This week (Monday), the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, addressed IDF commanders during a meeting in which the inquiries into the events of October 7th were presented. Halevi began, "Our predecessors, whom we deeply respect, decided not to conduct an inquiry into the Yom Kippur War, arguing: ‘This is too difficult; let’s move forward. That is what’s best for the IDF.’ I believe that led to a situation where, decades later, books started being written, and the inquiries were essentially delayed by 40 or 50 years. That is not the right approach for learning, and you know what, it’s not right for people’s mental well-being either." "I have seen people speak in inquiries with trembling voices, saying, ‘We failed.’ It is not easy for a commander to say, ‘I failed’—and in a moment, I will say it about myself as well. They explain, take responsibility, acknowledge the difficulty, and I am telling you there is value in this—first and foremost for the sake of learning. But people also need to go through the process, to experience, feel, and confront it in order to move forward in a better way," he said. He added, "I believe that an organization or an individual who cannot stand and look failure in the eye will find it very, very difficult to correct their course. Since October 7th, 2023—Simchat Torah—I make sure, every single day, multiple times a day, to look failure in the eye. And I tell you: do not try to forget, do not look away. Not from a place of weakness, but with immense strength—because that is how we will become stronger." Related articles: 'I must give credit to Hamas for tricking us' Former Chief of Staff blocked 7/10 investigation Former Chief of Staff hid info from Security Cabinet Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir visits Western Wall Addressing the inquiries themselves, Halevi stated, "At the start of the inquiry process, I wrote a commander’s letter to you with the five values that will guide our inquiries. I want to remind you of them again: truth, transparency, practicality, responsibility, and camaraderie. The order matters. The purpose of an inquiry is learning, not just reaching the truth—but truth comes first, because learning that does not stem from truth is flawed. That is why truth must come first. I won’t go through all the values, but I want to emphasize the last one. Camaraderie comes last—it is very important. But if there is ever a conflict between telling the truth and camaraderie, we will tell the truth. Camaraderie can be restored; truth is much harder to repair." He continued, "We have soldiers who fought with bravery—we heard the voices on the radio communications during the inquiries. We have female observers who continued to report with professionalism and composure until the very last moment. We have commanders who made critical decisions, who, even after fighting and being wounded, went back into battle to try and turn the situation around. We have senior IDF officers, some of whom are sitting here, who took up arms and went to fight. That is the IDF—leading from the front. We go into battle." "I strongly recommend that we sit here today and say: ‘This is our learning process.’ I have received letters and responses, even from people here, saying ‘You..’ and I have no problem with that. I embrace it. My responsibility is mine. I was the commander of the military on October 7th, and I have my own responsibility. I also carry the weight of all your responsibility—that, too, I see as mine. And when I see any of my subordinates who made mistakes, I see my own share in it as well, the Chief of Staff said. "We are approaching Passover. You remember how the one who asks, ‘What is this labor of yours?’ is described. And I tell you—see this as ours. Because the work will be better that way. And of course, there are people here with more responsibility and some with less. But I believe that every officer in the IDF, and every soldier, must carry the command as if they themselves were the commander on October 7th—and see how they can improve things for many years to come," Halevi concluded.
