Former IDF general calls for new leadership encouraging unity
Former IDF Manpower Directorate head Maj. Gen. (res.) Hagai Topolanski says trend of 'politicians on the Right and Left getting up every morning to stomp on others' must change for Israel to survive.
Former IDF Manpower Directorate head, Maj. Gen. (res.) Hagai Topolanski, who had to resign after his military laptop was stolen from his home, called for a new kind of leadership for Israel on Friday.
"The greatest challenge the country faces is connecting the different parts of the nation. We have to change this trend of politicians on the Right and Left getting up every morning to stomp on others... and in that manner hurting state security," Topolanski said during an event in Ashkelon.
"We need a new leadership that seeks to love one another and connect one to another and take care of each other. We had this in the past, and we'll have it in the future, otherwise we won't be here," he continued. "We need a leadership that wants the best for all."
Topolanski lamented the fact that "every group (in the nation) feels like it's fighting a daily war. Instead of embracing their friends all the time, they explain why others are wrong."
He asserted Israel needs "a cultural change from the roots. This will happen only with the help of a leadership. We're talking about our security problems, among other problems, but we don't deal with the real issues."
The former IDF Manpower Director head said the Bedouins, for example, "don't feel like they belong in this country. They don't feel like (the state) is investing in them."
He spoke about the difficulty of conscripting them into the army, "We give them benefits and professional training, but they're barely coming."
