What is Israel Katz doing?
The IDF's Bizarre Promotion Circus
Israel Katz’s stubborn promotion blockade leaves the IDF scrambling, with acting generals popping up like Rube Goldberg contraptions, as we witness chaos and crisis in the nation’s top brass.
Oh, Israel, land of milk, honey, and apparently, endless bureaucratic drama. In the latest episode of "As the Defense Ministry Turns," we're treated to a spectacle that's equal parts absurd and exasperating: Defense Minister Israel Katz holding up IDF promotions like a petulant kid refusing to share his toys.
And the star of this farce? The Ground Forces chief of staff position, which has been vacant for months because Katz won't approve Brig. Gen. Manor Yanai, despite an external review giving him a clean bill of health for his October 7 service.
Because nothing says "strong national defense" like punishing officers for being on duty during a crisis.
Enter Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the beleaguered ringmaster trying to keep the show going. With planning processes grinding to a halt amid this promotion purgatory, Zamir's had to improvise like a jazz musician in a symphony orchestra. He quietly taps Brig. Gen. Yair Natans, the former head of the Artillery Corps, to step in as the new Ground Forces chief.
To announce this without ruffling too many feathers, the IDF buries it in a press release about the Artillery Corps handover. Sneaky? Sure. Ridiculous? Absolutely.
Now, Natans' old job needs filling, so in comes Brig. Gen. Ehud Bibi as the acting Artillery Corps chief. But Bibi's previous gig in the personnel division? That's now a gaping hole, left unfilled like a plot twist no one saw coming. It's a chain reaction of temporary fixes, where one blocked promotion cascades.
This isn't leadership; it's a vendetta masquerading as policy. Katz's refusal to promote anyone tied to the Southern Command on that fateful day, even when probes clear them, smacks of politicizing the army at a time when unity should be priority one.
Meanwhile, the IDF's ground forces are left in limbo, with "acting" roles popping up like weeds. How are they supposed to plan for threats when their org chart looks like a Rube Goldberg machine designed by committee?
In a country facing real enemies, this internal squabbling is beyond parody. Katz, if you're reading this, maybe it's time to approve a promotion for common sense. Until then, the IDF's top brass will keep shuffling deck chairs on this sinking ship of absurdity.