As we look back at the tragic and chaotic events since October 7, 2023, and the persistent dysfunction of the decades preceding them, it has become painfully clear that Israel’s leadership has failed us. Not once, not twice, but repeatedly.
The painful truth is this: Every major party, political faction, and senior defense and security official of the past 30-plus years has contributed to the erosion of public trust, national security, and our collective future. It’s time they all stepped aside. We deserve better.
For too long, Israel’s leaders, on the Right and Left alike, have chosen self-preservation, populism, and division over national interest. They have recycled tired slogans instead of ideas, stoked division instead of unity, and clung to power while our society grew more fractured, our democracy more fragile, and our enemies more emboldened.
This is not about ideology anymore; it is about competence, accountability, and moral clarity. And none of our current leaders, from any side of the political map, have delivered.
Dysfunctional government on national and local levels
Tragically, the dysfunction of government is not limited to the national level. Our municipal governments suffer from even greater incompetence and a lack of professionalism. Local politics are dominated by special interests and political favors, where corruption is the norm, not the exception.
This rot goes deeper than politics. The defense and military establishment, once revered as the backbone of our national resilience, has not escaped this decay. The IDF’s top brass, and those in senior security roles, have had decades to learn the lessons of past failures, only to repeat them, at ever greater cost.
From strategic blindness to bureaucratic complacency, from groupthink to a lack of accountability, our military leadership has failed to adapt to the changing nature of our threats, to protect our civilians, and even to protect itself.
The defense establishment is an “old boys” network with promotions based on political affiliation and friendships more often than merit. The army has failed to comprehend that its number one priority is to win wars and protect the citizens of our great country, not to promote a certain ideology.
Even more disturbing is that these same defense figures, after leaving their posts, are routinely recycled into the political leadership or top security positions, as if failure in one arena qualifies them for promotion in another. Enough. It is time to draw a firm line.
No one who has held a senior position in the military or defense establishment in the past 30-plus years should be allowed to hold political or security leadership roles in the future. They’ve had their chance, and the consequences are visible in every grave, every broken family, and every community living under threat.
Bibi Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, and others are not innocent observers; they played significant roles in the mismanagement of the army that led to October 7. Their failed “strategic” thinking directly led to the disaster, and they cannot be entrusted to fix the problems that they helped create.
We need new leaders
This is not a call for vengeance or for disrespecting those who have served. It is a call for responsibility and for national courage to start anew. A country as innovative, vibrant, and determined as Israel cannot be perpetually led by yesterday’s men with yesterday’s thinking.
We must open the door to a new generation of leaders unburdened by the corrupt bargains and obsolete doctrines of the past. We need fresh political energy: ethical, visionary, and accountable leadership that puts people over parties, the future over the past, and substance over survival. Above all, we need leaders who put the needs of the country above their personal needs and ambitions.
We need a government of the people for the people, not, sadly, what we have today: a government of politicians for the politicians.
Israel has always prided itself on the ability to reinvent itself in the face of adversity. Now, we face a new kind of test – not from without, but from within. We can no longer afford to be governed by those who have already proven, time and again, that they cannot meet the challenge.
The time has come. Let the old guard step aside. Let a new generation rise.
The writer is the managing partner of Dekel Capital Management, a resident of Beit Shemesh, and a proud oleh who made aliyah 27 years ago and prides himself on always feeling like a new oleh. He is an avid Zionist who cares deeply about the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.