Metro
Strong
Former IDF
chief of staff
urges fighting
radical Islam on
all fronts.
Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News
L
t. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon
served as chief of staff
of the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) from 2002 to 2005,
before leaving the military
after 37 years. He is currently a
Distinguished Military Fellow at
the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy (WINEP), a bipar-
tisan think tank in the nation's
capital.
Ya'alon was in Metro Detroit
June 21 and 22 for his friend
Republican U.S. Senate candidate
Rev. Keith A. Butler of Detroit.
The two met several months ago
at a meeting of Christian Zionist
leaders, when Ya'alon spoke
for at the American Friends of
Ariel (AFA) Peace with Security
Dinner in Florida.
You have been
described as a prag-
matist. Is that
description apt?
"Yes, I'm a pragmatist. I found
myself in the last decade warn-
ing about being deceived and
deluded by wishful thinking, and
it is my main observation today.
We (the Israelis) want peace as
soon as possible; we even call it
"peace now." But we have to deal
with the Palestinian Authority,
radical Islamists, Iran, the
Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas,
which is part of the Muslim
Brotherhood. I keep myself out of
illusions!'
Why can't there be
peace now, or at least
soon?
Lt. Gen.
Moshe
Ya'alon
"The core of the Israeli stabil-
ity situation is still the lack of
recognition of the right of Israel
to exist as a Jewish independent
state. Arafat deceived us, but we
are willing to be deceived. We
have to stand strong to fight back
and try to convince the coun-
tries around us to change their
values. It is based on education.
They must not sanctify death,
but value life, human rights and
freedom."
What can Israel do
about it?
"The challenge is to the West
not just Israel. What we are
fighting is a radical Islamist way
that wants to impose a nation
of Islam across the world. Israel
is, in this war, a marginal issue
for them. Israel is just one target
they have in dealing with the
West.
"In most Western societies it
is the same: We choose to ignore
it or deal with it tomorrow. But
we can't ignore it. We must tight
it politically, economically and, if
needed, militarily."
12
June 29 • 2006
Did the Gaza with-
drawal help or hurt?
"In my former capacity I said
what I had to say as a general,
explaining both the benefits and
the risks. But now I can say that
is very negative to my mind. Sure
it is an easier deployment for
the IDF, but we have no answer
to the kassams (rockets). Since
disengagement 700 kassams have
fallen on Israel and it is the IDF's
role to defend against them.
"From the economic point of
view it is also not a better situ-
ation ... We must invest a lot of
money to protect these commu-
nities.
"We've enjoyed for a while
some international empathy,
but where are the strategies and
advantages that will help us?
We've encouraged, inspired and
energized all the Islamic extrem-
ists in the region. We have set up
a `Hamastan; a ( Hizbollahstan'
and an 'al-Qaedastan!"
Should American Jews
who oppose "conver-
gence" (unilateral
Israeli withdrawal from
most of the West
Bank) speak out or
support the policy of
the democratically
elected government of
Israel?
"I fully understand the
approach, but Israel is not just for
the Israelis. It is to protect and
defend the Jewish people wher-
ever they are. I believe people
should speak out their minds; if
they criticize the Israeli govern-
ment positions, they should say
it. It is the future of the Jewish
people as much as Israel!' E