From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Controversial ex-officer claims Halevi blocked appointment as PM’s military secretary; PMO: Grave if true; IDF denies, says meeting documented
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
A controversial former senior officer in the Israel Defense Forces claims Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi blocked his appointment last year as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary.
The military denies the statements attributed to Halevi by Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, and says the meeting was documented.
In an interview with the Kan public broadcaster, Winter claims that on October 2, 2023 — five days before the Hamas-led attacks — Halevi said to him, “The prime minister wants you for the job of military secretary. I think you’re not suited, I consulted the General Staff; your strategic thinking is not fit for the General Staff. I request that you resign from the military and that is the defense minister’s request. I also think that the prime minister’s request is not appropriate.”
Referring to Halevi, Winter says in the interview, “Who do you think you are, you brat? Who are you? You’re confused! You’re a confused chief of staff, you’re subordinate to the prime minister and the political echelon, who are you anyway?”
Netanyahu’s office releases a statement along the same lines, though stated more diplomatically.
“If Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter’s words are indeed true, this is a serious incident,” says the Prime Minister’s Office. “In a democratic country, the chief of staff is subordinate to the political echelon and must keep his political or personal opinions to himself.”
However, the military denies the statements attributed to Halevi by Winter, and says the meeting had been documented.
“The words attributed to the chief of staff by Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter were not said. The meeting in question was documented in the chief of staff’s office,” the IDF spokesperson says in a statement.
Winter was released from the military in May after being passed over for promotion yet again.
Winter came under considerable criticism in the 2014 Gaza war for comments he made at the time that framed the operation as a religious fight, for allegedly passing information to politicians without proper approval, and for his actions during the highly controversial “Black Friday” battle in Rafah.
Since that war, known in Israel as Operation Protective Edge, Winter’s career stagnated, despite him previously having shown significant promise for advancement to the upper echelons of the IDF.
Winter was often held up as a shining example for the national-religious community, and right-wing activists repeatedly called for him to be promoted in the military.
