Bardugo attacks Eisenkot: Reserve officer reveals details from the past
A Channel 14 commentator claimed on air that "Yashar!" party chairman Gadi Eisenkot is a man who "does not know books." Brig. Gen. (res.) Guy Hazoot, head of the Ground Forces' Operational Learning Division, refuted the claim, stating: "One can argue about political worldviews, but hitting below the belt and lying is unacceptable."
Brigadier General (res.) Guy Hazoot, head of the Operational Learning Division in the Ground Forces and a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), criticized Channel 14 commentator Yaakov Bardugo after the latter labeled Gadi Eisenkot "a man who does not know books." Hazoot dismissed the claim as a lie that has no place in public discourse.
During the channel's morning program, Bardugo described the former Chief of Staff and chairman of the "Yashar!" party as "a stuttering man who does not know books." Hazoot, author of the book "The High-Tech Army and the Cavalry Army," who has previously criticized the military establishment, deemed the commentator's tone inappropriate and a personal attack.
Rejecting the commentator's claims, Hazoot shared on Instagram that after publishing his book, he reached out to Eisenkot for his perspective. He had even sent the former Chief of Staff a draft of the book months earlier.
"I turned to the 21st Chief of Staff because I knew from our acquaintance that, besides being a man of books and an avid history buff, he is capable of accepting the criticism directed at him in the book," he wrote.
According to Hazoot, Eisenkot arrived at their meeting "armed with a stack of pages and a list of insightful comments." The "Yashar!" party chairman corrected facts and provided additional perspectives for the historical analyses presented in the book.
"The High-Tech Army and the Cavalry Army" describes the emergence of two distinct military structures: the "high-tech army" (Air Force, Intelligence, Cyber), which received priority resources, and the "cavalry army"—the ground forces, which were relegated to a secondary role. The book notes Eisenkot's role in the budget cuts that impacted the ground forces.
Hazoot emphasized that the former Chief of Staff "did not argue with the criticism, but accepted it with grace," adding a final rebuke to Bardugo:
"One can argue about the political worldview of the leading candidate for Prime Minister, but to hit below the belt and also to lie—this has no place."
