Israeli General Defends Nation's Military Defense at Hillel

Major General Yaakov Amidor of the Israel military speaks and answers questions at the Harvard Hillel on Monday, Jan. 27. Amidor is currently on a consulate tour throughout the United States. By Y. Kit Wu

Israeli Major General Yaakov Amidror highlighted the strategic importance of Israel at a Harvard Hillel talk Monday night.

“There is only one anchor of stability in the Middle East and that is Israel,” said Amidror, who recently stepped away from his position as head of the Israeli National Security Council. “It is the only state [in the region] with a very strong democracy.”

Amidror responded vehemently against allegations that Israel commits human rights offenses.

“Not one of the human rights experts at Harvard are responsible for the lives of citizens anywhere in the world—when you come to real life, it’s much more complicated,” Amidror said.

He also defended the Israeli Defense Forces’ practice of forcibly entering the homes of Palestinians for counter-terrorism purposes.

“We saved 15,000 lives of Israelis,” Amidror said. “The Palestinians are suffering...from us going into their beds, homes...to prevent suicide bombings.”

Amidror supported Israel’s high level of defense spending in light of numerous threats in the Middle East. He was quick to defend Israel’s military capacity against the potential threat of nearby Iran.

“We can do less than America—we are not a superpower—but we can do good enough,” he said.

According to Amidror, Israel historically spent nearly 20 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, but has recently cut back to a little over six percent—still more than the United States and Europe.

He also praised the strength of the relationship between Israel and the United States, calling the Obama administration “the best we’ve had since 1967.”

Amidror noted that Israel, with the help of American aid, successfully tested the Arrow III missile shield this month, which could greatly increase Israel’s ability to defend itself against missile attacks.

Students expressed a variety of opinions on the event.

“He didn’t say anything shockingly new—he repeated the general establishment opinion about Iran,” said Aaron Magid, a student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “I thought it was interesting that he said that America and Israel’s cooperation with military intelligence is the strongest it's ever been under Obama.”

Joshua S. Chmara ‘15 offered a slightly different reaction to the talk.

“I thought it was really interesting,” he said. “We need more people to come who support Israel and just have a better understanding of the facts and just what’s twisted by the media.”

—Staff writer Ivan B. K. Levingston can be reached at ivan.levingston@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Tyler S. Olkowski can be reached at tolkowski@college.harvard.edu.