Former IDF chief defends Shin Bet, slams Bitan and Regev
Former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz comes to the defense of the Shin Bet security service and attacked those who called the organization 'delusional' and 'cowardly' in the Temple Mount crisis; Minister Regev and MK Bitan, to whom the slight was aimed, did not let it pass: 'He was a failed chief of staff.'
"These people simply do not realize that their ability to voice these opinions is made possible by those 'delusional' and 'cowardly' people," Halutz said in defense of the Shin Bet. "They were the ones who enabled them to get to where they are.
"Darwin said that man evolved from an ape, the problem is that in Israeli public society there are too many people who have not completed this transition process."
Although he did not mention the names of Minister Miri Regev and MK David Bitan, the very fact that they attacked the Shin Bet in these terms leaves little doubt that the slight was directed at them.
"I'm not going to mention names, I am talking about a general phenomenon, and I think that this heated and aggressive discourse doesn't have a place where there is need to demonstrate discretion, coolness, unity and the ability to look at the bigger picture."
Regev and Bitan did not let this pass.
Minister Regev, who during her military service served as the IDF spokesperson under the command of Chief of Staff Halutz, issued a harsh response.
"His arrogance and rudeness made him a failure as the chief of staff," she claimed. "These words do not surprise me—his statement about Darwinism is not a slip of the tongue, it is a distorted, racist and dangerous world view that must be condemned. Halutz joined a long line of people who defined those who think differently than them as monkeys and a herd of animals."
Regev also defended the criticism she made last week. "It is permissible and desirable for the political echelon to cast doubt on intelligence positions and concepts, and this is our role as the political echelon," she said.
MK Bitan also criticized Halutz: "A failed chief of staff, he dares to utter such a racist and arrogant statement. I do not want to stoop to his level, but he does not understand that in a democracy, those who decide are the elected officials and not people like him."
