A political and military storm intensified Tuesday morning after a reserve lieutenant colonel called for laying the groundwork to remove IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir from his post, following a letter Zamir sent to the government objecting to legislation that would freeze arrest proceedings against Haredi draft evaders.
Reserve Lt. Col. Ronen Cohen leveled the attack in a morning interview with host Avi Ratzon on Radio Galei Yisrael, accusing Zamir of running a deliberate political agenda against the country's political leadership. Cohen said he was not surprised by Zamir's conduct surrounding the letter, pointing to what he described as a consistent pattern of behavior from the chief of staff throughout the war, citing Zamir's earlier objections to occupying Gaza City and to plans for a so-called humanitarian city. Cohen said Zamir always explains why the army cannot do something, and that his objections somehow always find their way to the media.
Cohen went further, hinting at political involvement behind the scenes on the Lebanon front as well, saying he would keep to himself who Zamir met with and how he became entangled there, and describing Zamir as "a full-fledged politician" whose appointment carried warning signs from the start. Cohen said he had believed Brig. Gen. Chico Tamir was far better suited for the position.
When Ratzon asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should act immediately given the letter and effectively dismiss the chief of staff, Cohen agreed that removal was warranted but counseled political timing rather than immediate action. He said he would not recommend the prime minister move now, but only after the elections, while stressing that the ground should nonetheless be prepared for such a step.
The controversy stems from a letter Zamir sent Monday to Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth, objecting to legislation that would freeze arrest, investigation, and enforcement proceedings against yeshiva students evading military service for several months.
Zamir argued the law would damage trust among serving soldiers and increase inequality, that the IDF has no professional advantage in evaluating the exemption criteria the law proposes, and that implementing the law would divert command attention and resources in the middle of a war. He specifically objected to a provision that would task senior IDF officers with certifying yeshiva student status, warning it would create a deep rift with those bearing the burden of service, and asked that the mechanism be removed from the bill without delay if it proceeds.
The letter has drawn sharp responses across the political spectrum, with the office of committee chairman Bismuth criticizing Zamir for sending it only the evening before the committee completed its deliberations and advanced the bill for a second and third reading, and other political figures weighing in on both sides of the underlying draft debate that has divided the government for months.
