By IDF Editorial Team
Edited by Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency / Jewish News Agency
Jerusalem, Israel — March 29, 2023 ….
A letter from the IDF Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi
To the commanders of the IDF and its mandatory and reservist soldiers,
These are complex days in Israeli society.
From all sides and directions, it is impossible not to be concerned about what is happening.
We have known wars, known pain, and known fierce combat against our enemies.
This hour is different to any that we have known before. We have not known such days of external threats coalescing, while a storm is brewing at home.
I turn to you at this time of trial: this is a time for responsibility.
Our mission is to protect our home against growing external threats. We know them well and understand that this is the time to show responsibility.
Let our enemies know that we are all standing our guard and no one is abandoning their stations.
Resilience, personal responsibility, unity in our ranks and companionship will stand now as at any other time, as we face the great defense and security tasks ahead.
The IDF has always acted in accordance with the spirit of the IDF and its values, a seventy-five-year-old moral compass whose light has guided us in even the darkest hours and darkest days. This will also be so in the future.
I and all IDF commanders alongside me, across the entire chain of command, will lead the IDF and you in these complex days. I am responsible for every mission commanded to you being one for the protection and security of the State of Israel and its citizens, and will uphold the values of the IDF.
And you, each one on your guard, are responsible for fulfilling your part in the mission, knowing that there is no substitute for you.
The place for expressions of protest is in the public arena. These have no place in the IDF, because here they are fatal. They undercut our mutual responsibility for one another and our enemies interpret this as a weakness and an opportunity for their plots. Each of you has a personal responsibility to stand up to the task and carry it out without any external considerations.
Times like these bring challenges and risks with them. At a time when a storm is growing externally and another is brewing internally, the key to the IDF’s resilience and compliance with its missions is a solid chain of command based on trust and discipline.
We will close ranks, we will care for each other and together we will improve readiness for every mission, on every front, against every enemy.
This is our duty!
IDF Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi