The past few days have seen agony and ecstasy in both America and Israel. In America, Republican Donald J. Trump (previously the 45th POTUS) won the 60th quadrennial U.S. Presidential election, becoming the 47th President of the United States (312 Electoral College votes, and nearly 73 million of the popular vote). Incumbent Democratic Vice-President Kamala Harris was defeated in this same election (226 Electoral College votes, and just over 68 million of the popular vote).
In Israel Yoav Gallant, former Commander of Israel’s Shayetet 13 (Flotilla 13, equivalent to the US Navy Seals) in the 1990’s, and Minister of Defense (2022-2024), was informed on November 5, 2024 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “decided to end the defense minister’s tenure.” These changes have made some people very happy, and other people very sad.
Some careful observers have noted occasional parallels between political events in Israel and those in America. Similar events are often simultaneously mirrored in both countries: both countries have electorates sharply divided on both sides of the political spectrum; the media of both countries see their elections in intense and sometimes apocalyptic terms; and the majority of the mainstream media (MSM) in both countries are virulently opposed to the candidates representing the conservative wing.
- This newsletter focuses on the background behind why PM Netanyahu ended Gallant’s tenure. Though this background information is available on Israeli open sources, nearly all media outlets (including Evangelical and Messianic streams) are not presenting a comprehensive picture – either because of lack of awareness of Hebrew sources, or because of political leanings skewing their perceptions of events on the ground.
Horses and thinkers
An Englishman circa 1175 A.D. once spoke a proverb, recorded in ‘Old English Homilies’: “Hwa is thet mei hors wettrien the him self nule drinken.” In modern English it is usually stated: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” This proverb needs to be tweaked only slightly for it to have special reference to today’s generation: “You can teach a person to read or even to watch the news, but that is not the same as teaching that person how to think, how to weigh matters or how to discern truth.”
Edward Bernays, born in 1891 to a Viennese Jewish family, was an American pioneer in the field of propaganda (which he renamed ‘public relations’). In his influential book Propaganda (published in 1928), Bernays sums it up:
- The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.
The Nazi Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, wrote in his diary “The essence of propaganda consists in winning people over to an idea so sincerely, so vitally, that in the end they succumb to it utterly and can never again escape from it.”
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia of 1952 defined ‘dezinformatsiya’ [Russian for ‘disinformation’] as the dissemination of “false information with the intention to deceive public opinion.”
We are facing a generation that has been nursed on propaganda – falsely called ‘News’ – that is being pumped out 24/7 on TV, on websites and in newspapers. People get their talking points, their opinions, their political judgments and their worldviews by what they watch on TV, read on their computer screen or glance at in newspaper headlines.
The growing realization (both in Israel and in America) that many politicians, governmental leaders, security and intelligence forces, medical professionals and corporate autocrats are not to be automatically trusted (or even trusted at all), is no longer considered a marginal or paranoid expression of ‘conspiracy theories.’ The world is dealing with a reality at the doorstep which seems prophetically close to George Orwell’s dystopic vision in ‘1984’ and Aldous Huxley’s drug-induced paradise in ‘Brave New World’.
In Mein Kampf Adolf Hitler stated, “The function of propaganda is . . . not to weigh and ponder the rights of different people, but exclusively to emphasize the one right which it has set out to argue for. Its task is not to make an objective study of the truth . . . [but] to serve our own right, always and unflinchingly.”
Drinking from the poison chalice
Most media organs in Israel (and probably in America too) are run by oligarchs and business tycoons. They attempt to influence political decisions in ways which will be advantageous to their own economic interests. Each major Israeli political party is financed and guided by the goals of these tycoons. These same oligarchs control media perspectives regarding both their favorites and their enemies – et voilà: ‘news’ morphs into propaganda. As US legal authority Alan Dershowitz notes: “These media companies will seek to influence the political discourse that affects their bottom line, as they simultaneously report on it.” For the past 15 years, 95% of Israel’s media has been spewing out hate-filled anti-Netanyahu propaganda, leveling seditious gossip, false accusations and championing legal attacks – each of these withering away and being annulled over time.
For those who are not tracking about this poisonous history – whether through lack of Hebrew language ability, lack of acquaintance with the Hebrew media, or due to an unwillingness to believe anything positive about Bibi based on a vindictive attitude toward Israel’s most repeatedly elected Prime minister – they are at a loss in dealing with how Israeli and world media are portraying the firing of Yoav Gallant. Many of these people have drunk the Kool-Aid – they have gulped down the ‘yellow journalism’ attacks against Prime Minister Netanyahu. They are unaware that these attacks are being leveled by the same anti-Bibi enemies who have blackballed him over the past two decades. They do not understand that Israel’s media mafia are simply using the firing of Gallant as another tool in their arsenal of PR weapons in order to remove Bibi from serving as Israel’s Prime Minister.
It is necessary to unpack the factual background regarding Gallant’s dismissal. The following are some significant and pertinent keys.
A Cabinet Minister is legally required to carry out cabinet decisions
A cabinet minister is an official of an elected government who has been appointed to carry out the will of that government. If he fundamentally disagrees with the will of the government as expressed in its policies, he can try to effect change in cabinet decisions but, if that does not work, he needs to resign. However, if that cabinet minister stays on and attempts to undermine government positions and actions, he is acting as a ‘fifth column’ and needs to be fired. PM Netanyahu’s November 5, 2024 statement gives needed background this:
- In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust between the prime minister and the defense minister is required. Unfortunately, even though in the early months of the campaign there was such trust and very productive cooperation, in recent months, that trust has cracked. Between me and Defense Minister Gallant, significant gaps emerged regarding the management of the campaign, and these gaps were accompanied by statements and actions that contradicted government decisions and cabinet decisions . . . The crisis of faith between me and the defense minister became public knowledge, and this crisis now hinders the proper management of the campaign. It’s not just me saying this; the majority of the government and most of the cabinet members, almost all of them, share this feeling that this situation cannot continue.
Gallant’s leaks from the high-security cabinet discussions were many, have been extensively noted in the press, and also contributed to his firing. Here are a such few examples:
- “Israel’s Netanyahu accuses Gallant of leaking information from closed security meetings” (April 22, 2024)
- “Netanyahu accuses Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of pushing ‘false leaks’ amid hostage crisis” (April 23, 2024)
- “Gallant in a leaked recording” (May 21, 2024)
- “‘Gallant tells cabinet . . . in fresh leaked quotes from cabinet meeting” (August 30, 2024)
- “Gallant’s leaked letter revealed urgent call for updated war goals” (October 27, 2024)
Cabinet Ministers cannot publicly oppose cabinet decisions
Throughout his term of office, Gallant contradicted government and cabinet decisions in public statements, leaked private statements and initiated actions. This was true in concerning his decisions and pronouncements about Justice Ministry matters (here and here). At that time, this led to Gallant being fired by Bibi on March 26, 2023, though the move was later rescinded due to street riots. His public opposition to government policies also touched on management of the military campaign, the hostage deal, the ceasefire deal, and the Philadelphia Corridor proposal.
Gallant frequently met with the heads of organizations subject to the Prime Minister without the Prime Minister’s presence or consent, in an attempt to influence or countermand government policies. The Prime Minister’s Office dismissed Gallant’s behavior in these cases as “extremely puzzling,” maintaining that “one compass” exists for the war – the goals set by the cabinet.
The IDF top brass is required to carry out cabinet decisions
It may come as a surprise to some non-Israelis, but at times the IDF’s top brass has been known to ignore, side-step or even disobey cabinet decisions. Former Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon was known to do so, and Gallant during his tenure has also acted as political rival and fierce critic of war policies while at same time functioning as a rubber stamp for the military and security establishment’s views – even when the Prime Minister and the cabinet have clearly stated the government’s war aims. Gallant occasionally declared that the government’s aims were neither achievable nor realistic. Gallant opposed opening up the Lebanese front, and publicly pushed for an agreement with Hezbollah – even though it turns out that Hezbollah has long been planning a major invasion of northern Israel à la October 7, 2023, and that their arsenals of drones, rockets, missiles and anti-tank shoulder-fired missiles were overflowing and ready for a deep attack on the Jewish state.
Former Minister of Defense and highly decorated soldier Ehud Barak has been calling for civil revolt and blood in the streets; a refusal by IDF soldiers to serve in the reserves; and a call for violent overthrow of PM Netanyahu’s government. Former Chiefs of Staff Eizenkot, Barak and Gallant all shied away from speaking against or taking legal steps against an anarchistic and revolutionary movement known as ‘Brothers in Arms,’ even as this group called for riots and civil disobedience. The IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Col. Herzi HaLevi warned the PM not to go through with an already approved cabinet decision regarding judicial reform, lest the refusal of some of these soldiers would spread and affect the IDF’s battle readiness. The IDF top brass was telling the government to back down in the face of revolt, rather than enforcing Israeli law here. In June 2024, in a ‘Twilight Zone’ moment, the ‘Brothers [and Sisters] in Arms’ received the ‘Presidential Award for Volunteerism’ from the President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog.
A Cabinet Minister cannot publicly side with a foreign government against his own cabinet’s decisions and policies
Throughout the 2023-24 war between Israel (on the one side) and Hamas, Hezbollah, Kata’eb Hezbollah in Iraq, the Houthis in Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary Corps (on the other), the American President Biden, the U.S. State Department and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all pressured and threatened the Israeli government many times concerning military strategies and objectives. The US warned Israel to stand down about an overwhelming popularly supported IDF incursion into Gaza, into Khan Younis, into Shifa Hospital, into Jabaliya, into Rafiah, into Lebanon, into bombing Hamas HQ in southern Beirut (Dahieh), etc. The U.S. tried to bully Israel into accepting pro-Hamas ceasefire conditions, and into establishing a jihadi government over Gaza and The West Bank composed of Hamas and PLO terrorists. The U.S. tried to force Israel to retreat from defensive military lines which could block Hamas’ re-entry into the rest of Gaza (the Philadelphia and Kissufim Corridors), etc.
In many of these cases, Defense Minister Gallant demanded that PM Netanyahu obey American diktats, even publicly opposing the PM and the cabinet’s absolute majority after the decision had been ratified. Gallant castigated Netanyahu in a leak he made public, declaring that Bibi was letting Israel slide toward long-term military rule in Gaza – a choice that Gallant said would be disastrous. Gallant opposed going ahead with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah without US approval – and that approval would never have been forthcoming, as JCOS head Lloyd Austin revealed. Gallant repeatedly challenged Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas to free the remaining hostages in Gaza – even though Hamas refused to negotiate anything less than total IDF surrender and withdrawal, in exchange for only some of the hostages (including dead ones as part of the deal). Gallant’s words: “We need to make painful compromises.”
The lack of popularity among average Israelis for Gallants’ spoiler role was seen in a July 4, 2024 Israeli poll which saw Gallant as the main danger to coalition unity.
Gallant’s opposition to Cabinet decisions were supported and praised by the Opposition
After Gallant’s removal from office on November 5, 2024 by PM Netanyahu, the four heads of the Israeli Opposition – Yair Golan, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz and Avigdor Liberman (all who are either leftist or center-left) – issued a press release affirming that they stand with Yoav Gallant in his opposition to the government. This public demonstration of support for Gallant by anti-government forces indicates that Bibi’s decision to remove the Minister was based on real political substance. The Likud party issued a statement in response to this above press release, reminding readers that “two months ago, Gantz stated that Gallant must resign.”
Gallant publicly mocked his leaders’ strategies and decisions
On Monday, August 12, 2024, Defense Minister Gallant mocked PM Netanyahu’s promises of “absolute victory” in the ongoing war, calling them “gibberish.” On Monday, September 9, 2024, Gallant declared that “Hamas as a military formation no longer exists . . . Israel should achieve an agreement…” Gallant advocated handing Gaza and the West Bank over to a Hamas/PLO consortium. His declaration that the IDF has achieved their goals in Gaza was soon echoed by an anonymous IDF commander on the northern front with Lebanon, who dittoed the same perspective about Lebanon. Meanwhile, rockets, drones and missiles continue to kill and terrorize Israelis in the north, while IDF soldiers are still clashing with Hamas in the south and suffering fatalities.
According to leaked accounts, Gallant said at one point in a government security cabinet meeting that “the Prime Minister can indeed make all the decisions, and he can also decide to kill all the hostages,” provoking rebukes from other ministers.
US pressure on Israeli government actions and internal politics
Back in 2012, POTUS Barak Obama exerted extreme pressure on Israel in order to get the IAF to cancel their intended strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Foreseeing similar pressures, in October 2024, PM Netanyahu cancelled Gallant’s trip to the U.S. – Gallant could no longer be trusted to represent his own government in negotiations with Uncle Sam.
Occasional articles in Israeli and U.S. media note that there is continued CIA and State Department pressure on the Israeli political and military scene to have Netanyahu’s government removed – whether by street riot, by political machinations, or by anti-government media leaks. There are ambitious and hungry former Israeli leaders who look longingly toward America, in hopes of returning to power – or at least in hopes of destroying their arch-nemesis.
Gallant publicly took credit for military decisions which he opposed
Most of the achievements Gallant took credit for in his Tuesday, November 5, 2024 speech, focus on the same decisions he opposed during his term of office, and which military actions Bibi pushed and promoted.
The Stockholm Syndrome (D.C. version) and its influence on Israeli leaders
Some influential Israeli politicians, intelligence mavens, military generals and judicial authorities are afraid. They are not trembling over jihadi rockets, missiles and drones. They are wilting over the possibility that a Dutch building – the Peace Palace situated in the Hague, Netherlands – will be the next and greatest threat to the Jewish state. In The Hague, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations lives and moves and has its judicial being. It is the International Court of Justice (ICJ). These Israelis are worried about ‘lawfare’ – the possibility that the nations of the world will boycott the Jewish state and declare it a pariah among the nations. They are worried that Israeli leaders, military personnel, diplomats and perhaps even Israeli rock musicians may be arrested and imprisoned by a United Nations-led anti-Jewish conspiracy. The worldwide rise of anti-Jewish riots in the light of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 pogroms has only attenuated these fears.
Every Israeli General, every Israel head of Intelligence, every Israeli politician – they all consider the ICJ’s gnarled fingers before they make any moves, be they military, judicial or diplomatic. The fear of ‘progressive’ lawfare – control and revenge by the anti-Zionist nations of the world – is paramount among many Israeli leaders.
We have written previous newsletters about the Stockholm Syndrome – how victims of terror sometimes become defenders and enablers of terrorists.
With regard to Gallant and others in Israeli leadership, perhaps a new term should be invented: the ‘Stockholm-DC Syndrome.’ The idea here would be “Don’t get Uncle Sam angry – at any cost! Even at the cost of Israel’s security!” This dynamic is all too real, and is something worth adding to intercessory prayer-lists.
How should we then pray?
- Pray for the God of Jacob to grant revelation and courage to Israeli and American leaders in their dealing with jihadi terror organizations
- Pray for the annulling of Iranian war strategies and counter-attacks, and for the blocking and frustration of jihadi plans against Israel, the apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8)
- Pray for the physical rescue of the approximately 44 to 50 living Israeli hostages (including babies) kidnapped by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and PFLP/PLO. At this moment some of these hostages are being tortured, raped and starved (this based on testimonies of recently released hostages). Sadly, over 100 of all Israeli hostages are dead; Hamas is holding on to their corpses as cold storage bargaining chips
- Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth
Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.
In Messiah Yeshua,
Avner Boskey
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