Herzi Halevi sparks controversy after sharing about the October 7 failure

Former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi spoke about the personal process he has undergone and the lessons learned since the October 7 disaster and the outbreak of the Iron Swords War, during which he served as Chief of Staff until the end of his tenure in early 2025.

Halevi shared these remarks while appearing as a guest at the "Five Fingers Movement - Value Excellence" forum, about which the movement stated: "Great appreciation for a unique person who represents much of the good that exists here."

The social youth movement invited former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi last Thursday for what they described as an open discussion lasting over two hours "about the feelings, the lessons, and the personal process he has been going through since October 7."

The movement criticized the current leadership in light of Halevi's visit, whom they praised, saying:

"In the Israel of recent years, we have become accustomed to a leadership style that is not prepared to look reality in the eye honestly and engage in soul-searching. I know that from such leadership we will not see correction or change. Only a continued descent down the slippery slope of Israeli reality. Yesterday, we experienced the exact opposite."

According to the movement, following the former Chief of Staff's visit:

"Herzi Halevi does not sugarcoat, does not make excuses, and does not run away. With a sincerity rare for our days, Herzi speaks from the heart and shares about the great failure. He speaks from a human, painful, and sensitive place. The great disaster of October 7 cannot be changed, but our ability to learn, correct, and renew will come only thanks to people with integrity who are capable of saying 'We failed. I failed'."

Concluding Halevi's remarks, the Five Fingers Movement forum quoted:

• Get up: one does not remain lying on the floor after a fall.

• Learn: one must understand what we learned from the failure in order to correct, rebuild, and grow.

One person who came out against the forum's decision to invite Halevi was Natali Dadon, who wrote: "You have gone completely crazy!!!! His place is in prison! Did you forgive him on behalf of the 1200+ angels who cannot respond here?!"

General Secretary of the movement, Amir Menachem, retorted: "At every opportunity you have, you will stand behind your base with your populist and superficial reactions. What do you understand at all? Continue to spread hatred and ignorance, it serves your audience and the money you earn from it."

Journalist Shlev Kahlon also criticized the forum: "From time to time at night I ponder what it is like to lay your head on the pillow when you are one of the officers signed on October 7, and here, during the day, I see that the most senior of them is lecturing to teenagers, in a movement that promotes 'value excellence'. And I ask, for a friend of course, what is excellent and valuable about Herzi Halevi?"