New commander: We will prepare for war
Outgoing Galilee Division commander bids farewell to his subordinates, following Almog report which ruled he is responsible for soldiers' kidnapping. Referring to Lebanon war, he says, 'There is a big gap between feelings and what actually happened.' His replacement, Brigadier General Bachar, says 'we will prepare division for war'
"We didn’t succeed in everything, there is a lot left to learn and teach, but we accomplished out missions and hit the enemy hard. It is not on the border anymore and we may build zimmers (wooden cabins) on fertile ground and not on barrels of explosives," Hirsch added.
Hirsch spoke during a ceremony which was held at the Biranit base in northern Israel. Hirsch is being replaced by Brigadier General Yossi Bachar, a temporary appointment made by IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, whose previous appointments were rejected by the defense minister.
Hirsch submitted his resignation to the army chief following the Almog report, which looked into the conduct of the military echelon during the second Lebanon war and ruled that he was responsible for the kidnapping of two Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
Brig. General Bachar said during the ceremony, "I am accepting a very heavy responsibility, and I plan to do all I can in order to safeguard the State's border with Lebanon.
"We will guard the border while providing peace and quiet to the northern residents and taking care of our people's lives, and will simultaneously prepare the division for war, when we are required to deal with it," he added.
Hirsch's start-up
Some 200 people gathered at Biranit base for the exchange ceremony. Many were excited by Hirsch's remarks during the ceremony.
"An officer in the Israel Defense Force is he who was branded by obligation to the State of Israel, to Israeli society of to the Jewish nation. My IDF is my unit, my company, my battalion, my brigade, my base, my division. My IDF is the surgeon's scalpel sirens and clumps of earth on the closet walls, salutes of honor, and loss. My IDF is one and only and unique, it's our IDF, different and a sort of lighthouse for the nation, and as such, led by values."
The new division commander, Brig. General Yossi Bachar, entered and addressed in his speech the future missions of the division along the border with Lebanon: "I take upon myself a most weighty responsibility and with awesome respect intend to do all I can in order to succeed and protect the border of the nation with Lebanon, working to preserve calm in the north and protect human life, while still preparing the division for action in the event of a war."
Brig. General Hirsch (R) and Maj. General Eisnkot (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
IDF Chief of Northern Command Maj. General Gadi Eisnkot thanked Hirsch in his speech for his military operation during the difficult combat of the Lebanon war, and wished his replacement luck.
Hirsch, in his speech, spoke of the future, saying "I don't know if we will wield the sword forever but for the time being, it appears that we will. It is right to educate our children and our teenagers to walk along the trails of our land, to love it and to protect it...The State of Israel is our start-up - that's what she was and is for me, a place to build and be built and to invest every minute in this."
The ceremony ended with the transfer of the national flag from Hirsch to Bachar. Afterwards, participants were free for final hugs and words with Hirsch, who walked among them accompanied by his wife and children. Hirsch is about to set out on a struggle to clear his name following the publication of the Almog findings, which, according to sources in the know, halted Hirsch's climb of the IDF hierarchy.
Hirsch waiting for decision
Last Friday, Halutz convened a hearing for Brig. General Gal Hirsch, pursuant to the report published by Maj. Gen. (res) Doron Almog, in which the latter held Hirsch responsible for the kidnapping of the two IDF soldiers on the northern border.
At the end of the meeting, which lasted for several hours, Halutz announced that he would come to a final decision regarding Hirsch within a week and a half, after all relevant aspects of Hirsch's retirement are considered.
The hearing was attended by generals from the general staff, and IDF sources explained that it was a routine hearing intended to examine Almog's conclusions. Nonetheless, it is also possible that the hearing provides Hirsch with an opportunity to retract his stated intention of retiring.
"It's a complicated issue," one senior officer told Ynet. "On one hand, the chief of staff accepted the findings from the Almog report regarding the kidnapping. On the other hand, if the hearing presents Hirsch as bearing limited responsibility, then the chief of staff is contradicting himself. Sources close to Hirsch emphasized that he did not initiate the hearing and, at the current time, his intention to resign still stands.
Five officers spoke on behalf of Hirsch at the hearing: the division's intelligence officer and operations officer, two battalion commanders (one of whom commanded the armored corps battalion that lost four soldiers shortly after the kidnapping) and a brigade commander.
Hirsch himself is certain that he cannot be blamed for the kidnapping. He explained that in the weeks and days preceding the kidnapping, he was presented with a certain operational picture, with which he dealt accordingly.
It is believed that if Hirsch is cleared of the accusation pointed at him by the Almog report, he will retract his resignation, although the subject was not mentioned during the hearing. Nevertheless, IDF sources stated that the odds of Hirsch receiving another operational command position are small, and thus, it might be preferable for him to retire.
