Politicians Cannot Attack IDF, Haredim Must Join Military, Hagari Says

The political class must avoid dragging the IDF into their politics, IDF Chief Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said on Thursday in his outgoing speech in Tel Aviv, moments before he passed command over to incoming chief Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin.

Hagari said the IDF must “be left above and outside of all debate and disagreement. Anything else endangers the ability to accomplish its role” of protecting Israel.

He added that the state must immediately draft all of those who are eligible, an obvious reference to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) sector, and not wait years into the future.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir issued a statement saying, “Hagari was the person who delivered the difficult news and the good news to the public every evening, all with courage, sensitivity, and composure.”

Despite Zamir’s statement, he was the one who ended Hagari’s career; if Herzi Halevi had remained IDF chief, Hagari was expected to get a promotion to a major general position and to join the high command.

It is unclear how sympathetic Zamir might have been to Hagari’s future career aspirations, but it has been understood that he complied with a direct or indirect order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to push out Hagari following clashes over Qatargate and haredim in the IDF.

Qatargate refers to allegations that top aides to Netanyahu received funds from Qatar while also possibly working with the country regarding the issue of Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.

Zamir wished success to incoming IDF spokesperson Defrin, whom he knew, as both officers previously served together in the Tank Corps.

In his incoming speech, Defrin said he will “do all I can to strengthen the public faith in the IDF, the source of our future here… and of our power. Since October 7, we have been fighting a war about which we had no choice… We will continue with bipartisanship… we will tell the truth and will admit to mistakes.”

Defrin had been passed over for promotion by Halevi and had spent some time in the US with the Jewish Institute for National Security in America (JINSA) before Zamir called him back to service.

His most recent position in the IDF was as the head of International Cooperation.

In that position, The Jerusalem Post understands that Defrin helped run much of the IDF’s foreign relations with allied Western and Middle East countries, including some who Israel does not have official diplomatic relations with.

Prior to that, Defrin was wounded in the 2006 Second Lebanon War and served as a tank battalion commander.

Hagari was the first IDF spokesperson to emerge from the navy and served as a top aide to former IDF chiefs Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot.

He was also a commander at multiple levels of the elite Israeli navy seals unit, Shayetet 13, which meant that his identity was kept secret for most of his career.

While both spokesmen have strong interpersonal relations, Defrin comes off more as a classical spokesperson, while Hagari has never really shed his combat fighter persona.

Originally published in the Jerusalem Post.