Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi delivered an address Thursday to a graduation ceremony for combat officers in which he described the fundamental principle of the “hero” soldier as one who has “balance.”
Halevi spoke alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told graduates: “We are dismantling the axis of evil that we face, with calculated blows. No longer will terrorist armies be on our borders. Hamas will no longer rule in Gaza and Hezbollah will not sit on our northern border.” He added that “[w]e can go anywhere that we need to in Iran,” and promised that Israel would eventually achieve its goal of halting Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
But it was Halevi’s speech that stood out, partly because of the circumstances: it was a group of trainees who killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, carrying out their ordinary duties in Gaza, performing exactly as they had been taught.
Moreover, the burden of fighting during the war has been carried by ordinary people — often reservists, with jobs and families, who have returned to their military duties, risking everything for the sake of the common defense of their nation.
The following is the full text of Halevi’s address, translated from the original Hebrew by the IDF:
A year of the war has passed. Four seasons have come and gone. This year, you came from the battlefield, and now you return to it as commanders. You have gained extensive combat experience, learned what the battlefield is, and have become experienced in the actions of war. As young officers, you are at the beginning of the most fascinating journey of all – the journey of command.
Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu,
Minister of Defense, Mr. Yoav Gallant,
Honored Shaykh Mowafaq Tarif,
Commanders, family members, dear officers.Only recently, on Simchat Torah, we returned to asking for rain, hoping for blessed rains for the fields of the communities near the Gaza Strip to the orchards along the Lebanon border. In Tractate Berakhot, the Mishnah speaks of the might of rain. Through the might of rain, I wish to speak about the might of command. When rain falls in heavy doses, it can be damaging. Its absence also causes harm, but it is needed in the precise, appropriate measure; that is its strength.
The same is true of command: a commander must understand might. The hero is said to control his urges – not suppress them, nor leave them unchecked – the hero expresses the balance between them and the correct measure.
Instruct and explain to your subordinates, but also allow them to gain experience and become independent. Demonstrate determination in achieving the mission, and show them thoughtful decision-making in choosing the right path to fulfill. Teach them to take risks for the security of the state in a professional and appropriate manner.
Whether a platoon commander or a squad commander leads his soldiers to search a house in Lebanon, the approach he chooses: quiet or noisy, through the entrance or by breaching the wall, and the way he decides to search the building – each decision like this will impact the mission and your subordinates.
Recently, I met a platoon commander in the Tel al-Sultan area in Rafah. He was directed to a building where a terrorist had fled after our troops fired in his direction. The platoon commander entered the staircase of the two-story building and told me he saw fresh blood on the stairs, realizing that the wounded terrorist had gone up to the second floor.
Since there was no urgency, he acted with the right measure – he activated a drone to scan the building, identified the terrorist, exited the building, opened fire through the windows, and directed a tank to fire on the second floor. From this strike, the terrorist Yahya Sinwar was eliminated. The wisdom of commanders leads to good results at an appropriate cost. In this incident, one of our soldiers was seriously wounded. I met him this week; he is recovering and proud of his comrades who continue to fight. We wish him a full recovery.
Consider one of your soldiers, someone struggling to continue as a combat soldier. On the one hand, determination and expectation are the right approach, but on the other hand, you may break his spirit and lose a good soldier. Listen to him, often, simply listening to a struggling subordinate is most of the solution. I share with you insights I didn’t have as a young officer at the beginning of my journey.
Today, you, the graduating officers, join the ground forces’ commanders who have led us for over a year in defense and offense along the borders and deep within enemy territory, in winter and summer, in cold and heat, in dust and mud.
This past year, we have dealt a heavy blow to Hamas, eliminating hundreds of its commanders and thousands of its operatives, destroying manufacturing and combat infrastructure, and neutralizing many of its military and governmental capabilities.
We have inflicted severe operational and moral damage on Hezbollah, disrupted its chain of command, weakened its confidence, and degraded its abilities. We prevented wide-scale escalation in Judea and Samaria, eliminated hundreds of terrorists, and thwarted numerous terrorist attacks. Our long arm reached as far as Yemen and Iran with precision and sharpness. Our mission continues.
In recent weeks, we have settled scores with the master murderers leading Hezbollah and Hamas. Wars come with costs, and alongside our many achievements, this morning civilians were severely injured by a rocket while working in the fields in Metula. We extend our support to their families and to all the bereaved families.
During this entire period, we have not forgotten the hostages held captive by Hamas and are working to bring them home. Four seasons in this war. Some have felt them underground, the heat and humidity of summer and the cold of winter. This is a war goal set by the political echelon for the IDF, and rightly so. We have done to achieve it, bringing many back. We are responsible for them being there, and we must continue to act with urgency. We must move quickly to bring them home, this is our moral duty.
The strength of the IDF’s work this past year, alongside the renewed strength standing here on the parade ground – this is the power that allows us to fight, to give, and to persist; until we succeed and we return all the hostages. This strength will not cease and will continue to fight Hamas with all might and wisdom. We will not forget, and we will not stop. We will bring victory, of which the return of the hostages is an essential part.
Course commanders, you have led a professional and ethical training program during wartime. You understand well that our force-building rests first and foremost on people, and for that, we extend our deepest gratitude. You have built exemplary officers.
And you, the families, are the heart and support of the graduates. From you, they draw the strength and encouragement to shoulder the burden of command and its accompanying responsibilities. Your influence on every choice they made is substantial, and we greatly appreciate it.
Dear officers,
I am proud of your choice to be commanders in the IDF at this critical time for the future of the State of Israel. Be brave, know the right measure, think of it—not drought or flood, but command that brings blessing. Rise and succeed!
The idea of a “balance” between two extremes is one with deep roots in Jewish religious thought, especially the works of Maimonides, who was in turn influenced by the Greek philosophy of Aristotle, and the “doctrine of the mean.”
Halevi faced calls to resign following the October 7 terror attack, and has suggested that he will do so when the war is over, but has stayed on to lead Israel’s fight back — which, judged by historical standards, has been a massive success.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
