Culture of Lies in IDF Poses Strategic Threat

A culture of deceit within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the security establishment is presented as the greatest threat to Israeli society and the state's independence, a danger starkly highlighted by events since October 7th. The roots of this phenomenon are traced back to the British Mandate period and the 1948 War of Independence.

Historical examples illustrate this alleged pattern. During the 1948 war, company commanders in the Palmach's Fourth Battalion reportedly blamed a fallen comrade, Haim Poznansky, for their failure in the Battle of Nabi Samuel, a claim the author disputes. The commander of the Harel Brigade allegedly disappeared during the battle, with official accounts citing a need to summon reinforcements, while in reality, he retired to his room and fell asleep. The myth of the 35, a convoy sent to Gush Etzion, is also questioned; the author claims it carried only plasma, not weapons or ammunition, and its hasty departure was inadequately prepared, leading to the deaths of 35 fighters. Another instance from the same war involves an explosion at the National Institutions complex in Jerusalem, where a fabricated story allegedly covered up the negligence of an intelligence officer in the Haganah's Jerusalem district.

The article connects these historical accounts to contemporary experiences, citing the story of Ayal Eshel, whose daughter Ronny, an observer at the Nachal Oz outpost, was declared missing after October 7th. Eshel received a dog tag for his daughter from a senior officer of the Missing Persons Unit, which he believes was fabricated because it was undamaged, suggesting it was not found in the destroyed outpost.

Similarly, the article recounts the story of Kati Oliver, whose brother, Tzion Tayeb, disappeared during the Yom Kippur War. Despite military research declaring his body found, his family denied the identification. His father staged a fall at his grave, claiming the coffin was empty. Kati Oliver pursued this claim, eventually exhuming the coffin on Memorial Day eve to find it empty, contradicting official military documents.

The author further argues that this culture of lies distorts military operations and lessons learned. Examples include training exercises being misrepresented as "success exercises" and battles being embellished to hide failures or promote individuals and units. The battle at "Tzomet 42" during the Yom Kippur War, allegedly misrepresented as the "Chinese Farm" battle, is cited as an instance where the glory of one unit was attributed to another. The article also mentions a successful Hezbollah cell engagement in Ghajar that was reportedly distorted to conceal a commander's unauthorized initiative.

Research on commendations and decorations is cited, suggesting that 60-70% of them are based on fabricated or misrepresented events. The author claims to have debunked three of the twelve "Hero of Israel" stories from the War of Independence. The IDF archive is accused of hindering research into these matters. The article concludes that this pervasive deceit hinders proper after-action reviews and lesson-learning, citing the shortcomings in the reviews of the October 7th failures and the concealment of communications recordings that warned of Hamas movements. This, the author contends, leads to a deterioration of the IDF's capabilities, potentially endangering Israel's survival.