Two papers continue to comment on the selection of the new IDF chief-of-staff:
Two papers continue to comment on the selection of the new IDF chief-of-staff:
The Jerusalem Post writes: „Rarely has the politicization of the IDF been so blatant as in recent months, with egos and personal rivalries preoccupying our most senior military men. If the IDF’s most senior leaders are motivated by their own self-interests, not by the desire to selflessly serve the nation, how can these commanders expect anything more of their soldiers? Gantz, a child of Holocaust survivors and a lifelong soldier, would seem to epitomize the qualities of selflessness and love of country. His first order of business, once confirmed, will be to restore the idealism and pure motivation to serve undermined by the recent controversies. There are too many challenges facing our small nation to permit the frivolity of behind-the-scenes intrigues.”
Haaretz comments: „Outgoing chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi’s accomplishments were blemished during the last year by ugly in-fighting among the army’s top brass. Principal responsibility for this rests with Barak and Netanyahu, who did not monitor what was happening closely enough; but Ashkenazi is not exempt from blame. The final accounting can only be done when the State Comptroller’s Office finishes its examination of affairs connected to Boaz Harpaz. Yet, with this qualification, Ashkenazi deserves to be remembered as a successful IDF chief who was respected by soldiers, partly because he did not make haste to endanger them needlessly. His former deputy, Gantz, can redeem the slogan that has been a cliche ever since Yitzhak Rabin replaced Golda Meir as Prime Minister: continuity and change.”
Yediot Aharonot claims that, „Jerusalem’s ‘Bikur Cholim’ hospital is facing closure because the state has washed its hands of it and is unwilling to invest the funds necessary to rehabilitate it.” The author says that Jerusalem’s other hospitals would be unable to cope with the overload if Bikur Cholim closes and asserts that, „The economists at the Finance Ministry are keenly aware of the need to maintain the stability of the banks but do not believe that the stability of the health system is no less important.”
Ma’ariv dismisses ex-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s claims that he was on the verge of a concluding a peace agreement with the Palestinians as cynical posturing ahead of his trials on corruption-related charges.
Yisrael Hayom commends UK Prime Minister David Cameron for recently telling a European conference that, „The policy of multiculturalism, first enunciated in the 1960s, has failed and is only pushing Muslim youth towards radical positions,” and avers, „In the age of Politically Correct, in which any unfashionable remark regarding Islam is seen as extremist and racist, there is no doubt that Cameron showed great courage.”
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