Herzog, Livni take PM to task for attacks on Golan

Knesset members Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni also pile on Netanyahu and members of his cabinet over their excoriation of the deputy chief of staff.

“The attempt to intimidate and silence IDF officers is dangerous and unprecedented,” Herzog says in a statement. “The deputy chief of staff spoke of unhealthy trends in Israeli society and emphasized that he wasn’t making a comparison to the Nazi regime. The attacks from the political echelon, backed by spokespeople and PR professionals, against an officer who is prevented from responding but can only absorb [the attacks] are infuriating and unseemly.”

Adds Livni in a statement: “If, instead of attacking the deputy chief of staff, Netanyahu would act in the public arena in order to prevent racist and extremist phenomena, we would have no need for senior officers, of whose bravery [in speaking out] I’m proud, to fill this vacuum of leadership.”