“Refuses to give an open check, not ready to be part of the next default”

Bezalel Smotrich commented a short time ago (Wednesday) on his Facebook page about the criticisms surrounding the defense budget. The Minister of Finance wrote that “because I lead a different line in relation to the actions necessary in the war, there are those who repeatedly bother to spread a fake around the discussions on the defense budget and accuse me of harming the security of the state. So let's make order again”

“It cannot and cannot be disputed that the security system has fundamentally failed to prepare for the security threats directed against the State of Israel. It's not just the conceptual and tactical, intelligence and operational failure of October 7th. This is a much deeper failure of many, many years when we did not read the map correctly, did not prioritize correctly, and did not properly build the strength and capabilities to face the threats.'' he wrote at the beginning of his words.

“You don't have to be a great sage or a great understanding of confidence to understand this. If we were ready, the war in the last six months would have looked completely different. If we were ready, the residents of the North, for example, would have been at home a long time ago in a completely different security reality, our dependence on the US for supplying armaments would have been much less, and in any case, our freedom of action would have been much greater.'' he noted.

“The problem is that even today the IDF and the defense establishment refuse to admit this and draw lessons. The defense establishment insists on dying like last year and claiming that there is no need for far-reaching changes. We need to continue to do more of the same, only much bigger and with much more money. And this is what endangers the security of the state The fixation, the unwillingness to re-discuss, draw lessons and correct the necessary correction.'' he added.

He also said that “the map of threats around us is existential and very different from what was assumed in the past.” It requires very deep thinking. Revalidation of the threats and reference scenarios and redetermination of the principles of the response, and in any case the priorities for the building of the force and equipping. There will probably never be money for everything. No matter how hard we pull the rope, cut other things and increase the deficit, in the end there will be a budget limit and difficult decisions and risk management will be required.''

“In order to start such a process, we agreed on the establishment of a public committee to examine the defense budget. The committee will ask questions, demand answers, challenge the system and create a brainstorming session that is critical in order to prepare for the existential security threats that are directed against Israel and will likely only grow stronger.'' the minister clarified.

“So yes, I admit that I insist on this and refuse to give the IDF and the security system an open check for hundreds of billions of your money, money that will certainly come at the expense of other things, without my guaranteeing as much as possible that the State of Israel will buy you maximum security with this money. Maximum benefit he emphasized.

Smotrich added that “I am truly anxious for the future of the State of Israel in view of the multitude of challenges and threats directed at it and this time it is on my watch and my responsibility. That's why I don't intend to give up and I'm not ready to be part of the next failure, the results of which, God forbid, are already written on the wall in white Kiddush letters.'

At the end, the finance lie said that “cowardly anonymous informants can accuse me by tomorrow of political considerations and harming the security of the state. I am convinced that it is not the one who demands that lessons be learned and the correction of failures that harms the security of the country, but rather the one who insists on preventing it and continues to walk blindly in the dark as if nothing had happened. I very much hope that the Prime Minister will take responsibility here, back me up in my demand for the establishment of the committee and impose it on those who oppose it. Without this, I do not intend to release budgets that go beyond the ongoing and immediate management of the war.'