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Saturday, March 7, 1998
LABOR PARTY LEADER: WE FEAR RELIGIOUS IN HIGH ARMY POSITIONS

By: Aaron Lerner Date: 7 March, 1998

Why did Shlomo Gazit compare the knitted kippa worn by religious
soldiers to the swastika worn by Nazis in the German Army? General
(reserves) Shlomo Gazit is the former head of IDF military
intelligence and is now a research fellow at the Jaffee Center for
Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University.LABOR PARTY LEADER: WE FEAR RELIGIOUS IN HIGH ARMY POSITIONS

By: Aaron Lerner Date: 7 March, 1998

Why did Shlomo Gazit compare the knitted kippa worn by religious
soldiers to the swastika worn by Nazis in the German Army? General
(reserves) Shlomo Gazit is the former head of IDF military
intelligence and is now a research fellow at the Jaffee Center for
Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University. But while Gazit later
told reporters that his comment last Thursday night drew more
applause than opposition from the seminar audience which heard his
remark, the political leadership of his Leftist camp roundly
denounced the comparison. Faced with this criticism, Gazit has now
issued a cold apology via the press and to the Haredi Chief Rabbi
of Israel, explaining that all he wants is for the army to issue a
standard kippa for soldiers to wear. To date he has not said
anything directly to the representatives of the injured party - the
religious Zionist camp.

In order to provide readers with insight into the motivation for
such a comment, IMRA interviewed a leader from the Labor Party on
conditions of anonymity on Friday afternoon March 6.

IMRA: I wanted to ask you for a reaction to what Shlomo Gazit said
yesterday.

C: Terrible. I am certain however that it was taken out of
context. It sounds terrible. I am certain that he intended to say
something which is correct to say and it came out bad. The
comparison to the Nazis was bad. It is not permissible.

IMRA: Gazit just said on the radio that when he compared the
knitted kippa to the swastika that he was applauded.

C: I believe it. That it could happen.

IMRA: why do you think that this is the situation?

C: I'll tell you. I think that we have reached such a level of
opposition because the more that there is coercion people start to
exaggerate in their opposition. They cross the red lines. And he
really crossed the red lines. This is something which simply
cannot be done. There are some who understood from what he did
that in principle there should not be politics in the army. There
can be someone from Peace Now and someone from Gush Emunim (the
Bloc of the Faithful), and someone from here and there and that is
OK. But not as a unit.

IMRA: The emotions which are behind the reaction - do you think
that it is because of the coercion issue or politics? We are
talking about knitted kippot - these aren't the people who throw
stones on the Sabbath, its more political matters.

IMRA: It is an emotion of fear. It is fear. The fear that they
will be the best in the army. It is fear.

They are reaching the upper ranks. Listen, I was at a wedding
yesterday and I saw a senior officer from the paratroopers who was
attending the wedding of someone in his unit - and this senior
officer in the paratroopers wore a knitted kippa.

They are becoming the senior commanders in the combat units.

IMRA: So what?

C: It is frightening. Anyone who has a democratic soul is
frightened by this.

IMRA: Because.

C: Because they could easily become the central people in the
army. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow - it won't be long from
now - God forbid - one of them will be the Chief of Staff. And if
the Chief of Staff will be from a specific political group it will
be very problematic. It is a problem.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director
IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-9-7411645
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
pager 03-6750750 subscriber 4811

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