Yair Netanyahu, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son, shared a post calling IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi "the biggest failure and most destructive chief of staff in history" on Monday before quickly deleting the repost.
The post was originally posted by Erez Tadmor, a publicist who has worked for the Likud Party and run in the party's primaries and one of the founders of the right-wing Im Tirtzu organization. Netanyahu shared the post on Facebook and Telegram before deleting the repost.
The post accused Halevi of "standing by" amid threats by IDF volunteer reservists to end their volunteer service.
"Not only did you not judge or depose even one of the organizers and instigators, but you surrendered to them and became the ambassador of the refuseniks who demand that the government surrender to them," wrote Tadmor.
Tadmor added that the responsibility for the damage to the competence of parts of the IDF due to the protests of volunteers "does not fall on the shoulders of the government which is not ready to submit to the threats and fascist attempt of a handful of military personnel to subdue an elected government."
The Likud member accused the chief of staff of making the IDF "the only army in the world that does not discipline rebels, but summons them to tension release workshops and discussion circles."
"Now when it turns out, how surprising, that this is not a winning strategy, he tries to shift the responsibility to the government," added Tadmor. "In the test of history, when the fog clears and the dust settles, you Halevi will be remembered as the biggest failure and most destructive chief of staff in the history of the IDF and the State of Israel."
Defense minister condemns attack on Halevi
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant condemned Tadmor's post on Monday afternoon, tweeting "Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is one of the most outstanding officers I have met in all my years in the IDF and in the defense establishment - a brave, honest, matter-of-fact, cool-headed, thorough and balanced commander. Many citizens of the country owe him their lives."
Likud MK Eli Dallal rejected Netanyahu's sharing of the post as well, tweeting "Anyone who calls for non-presentation harms the IDF and the security of the state, and also anyone who criticizes and disparages in a personal and baseless way Halevi harms the IDF and the security of the state."
"The entire nation of Israel appreciates and cherishes the chief of staff in the complex and important task of protecting the State of Israel and the lives of its citizens."
The prime minister responded to his son's decision to share the post on Monday evening, writing "The State of Israel faces great challenges and as prime minister of Israel I work day and night together with the defense minister, the chief of staff, senior IDF officials, and the security forces to together ensure Israel's security in any situation."
The Kaplan Force protest movement rejected the prime minister's response, stating "The fact that Netanyahu chooses not to condemn the attack on the chief of staff shows the public that he is not qualified for his position. In his words, he gives the green light to the attack on the chief of staff. If Netanyahu leads a campaign and tries to oust the chief of staff - scenes will be seen in Israel that have never been seen before. We will not allow Netanyahu to destroy Israel."