I used to run Israel's security agency – now I'm sounding the alarm about our extremist government
I spent close to 40 years working as a public servant for the state of Israel, including as commander of the navy and head of the Shin Bet, protecting Israel and defending it from external and internal threats. Several weeks ago, along with 17 other colleagues who have also dedicated their lives to Israel's security and welfare, I made a decision that the future of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state is so under threat that it is not just my responsibility, but obligation, to sound the alarm.
The 18 of us took out a full-page advert in two major Israeli broadsheet papers. In it, we made clear that the very fabric of the state of Israel and the values on which it was founded are being eroded. The truth is that our hostages in Gaza have been abandoned in favour of the government's messianic ideology and by a prime minister in Benjamin Netanyahu who is desperate to cling to power for his own personal gain. Our government is undermining the democratic functions of the state to shore up and protect its own power. It is forcing us into a perpetual war with no achievable military objectives and which can only result in more loss of life and hatred.
And we are not the minority. The overwhelming majority of the Israeli public agree with us – 70% believe there needs to be a comprehensive end to the war in return for bringing our hostages home, and an election as soon as possible so that this government can be replaced. Since we took out our advert, we have been joined by thousands of pilots, navy officers, members of the intelligence and reservists, all of whom, in their own letters to the government, have expressed the same sentiments as our advert did.
Concerned for the future of our beloved country, I supported the publication of our advert in translation in the UK Times newspaper on 17 April. It is no longer enough to keep this discussion solely within the borders of Israel. We need to make sure that our allies abroad understand how grave the danger is. We need our friends from outside Israel to express their support for the Israeli people and not an extremist government committed to unravelling the fabric of the state.
This applies to governments who are Israel's allies and Jewish communities around the world who we regard as our greatest friends. It is for this reason that I and many others embroiled in the struggle for Israel's future were so pleased to see members of The Board of Deputies of British Jews – the UK Jewish community's largest representative community body – speak out in solidarity with us and in support of this existential battle we are waging. The 36 individuals who wrote a public letter expressed the exact concerns and sentiments that we have been articulating on the streets, week in, week out.
These people are true friends of Israel. It is not easy to speak out and I commend them for their bravery. I know that they will now face a backlash. However, so many of us leading the struggle in Israel wish that more of our friends in the diaspora would follow their lead. To be a supporter of Israel today means to speak out against this extremist government, not to sit on the sidelines in silence or, worse still, conduct a business-as-usual relationship, meeting government officials and presenting an image of a global Jewry united behind the Israeli government.
The crisis we are facing is existential. If we cannot build enough momentum to create a course correction, the very existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state is under threat. Silence is a show of support for the Israeli government. Punishing and berating friends that speak out is undermining our struggle.
I call on our allies – governments and diaspora Jewish communities – to hear the plea of the Israeli public and in particular the hostage families, who are demanding an end to the war and a new dawn for Israel. We all share the same commitment to Israel's future safety and security, but to be a true friend is to be a friend of the Israeli people – and not its disastrous government.
Ami Ayalon is a former director of Israel Security Agency (the Shin Bet) and a former commander-in-chief of Israel's navy
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