Zamir on command responsibility and rejecting violence
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke Monday at the Rabin Center during a ceremony marking 31 years since the assassination of former Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Yonatan Ben-Artzi, members of the General Staff Forum and participants in the Alon Command and Staff College course attended.
“One of the reasons for the events of October 7th was the flawed culture of ‘It will be fine,’ against which Rabin warned,” Zamir said. “As an IDF officer, do not say ‘It will be fine.’ Say ‘I am responsible.’”
He said commanders must feel the weight of their absolute responsibility and work constantly to fulfill it. They must know their soldiers and the enemy thoroughly, listen, examine their assumptions and make decisions.
Zamir recalled Rabin’s service from the Palmach through his command of the IDF during the Six-Day War and his roles as defense minister and prime minister. He said Rabin’s dedication to Israel’s security and future reflected a deep sense of mission. His example, Zamir said, underscores the need for responsibility, professionalism and sound judgment alongside boldness and determination.
General Staff Forum members also discussed command responsibilities with course participants, drawing on Rabin’s 1992 address to Command and Staff College graduates. The discussion focused on responsibility for subordinates’ lives and mission accomplishment, professionalism, initiative and personal example.
Zamir said Rabin’s legacy offers a framework for examining how commanders lead in battle, build capabilities for future challenges and set an example. He praised Israeli soldiers’ courage and determination to achieve victory throughout what he described as three years of fighting since October 7 on fronts near and far.
“Soldiers serving together in a tank crew, aircraft, or submarine must act out of a sense of mission and mutual comradeship, regardless of social or ethnic background,” he said.
“Rabin’s assassination remains a deep wound in the history of the state,” Zamir said. “His memory obligates us to categorically reject violence in Israeli society as a means of resolving our disagreements.”
He urged commanders to apply the discussions’ lessons to daily command duties and decisions ahead, guided by responsibility for the state’s security, IDF personnel and Israeli society.
Israeli citizen returned from Lebanon and transferred to police
The IDF said forces rushed to the Rosh Hanikra crossing following a report that an Israeli citizen had crossed the border into Lebanese territory.
Shortly afterward, a UN force located the citizen near the border and handed him over to IDF forces, who returned him to Israeli territory. He was then transferred to the Israel Police for further handling and investigation.
The IDF said the incident was under review and emphasized that crossing the border is prohibited, dangerous and a violation of the law.
IDF reports opening fire to prevent stone-throwing near Burqa
During an overnight operation Monday on the outskirts of Burqa in the Samaria Brigade sector, IDF forces identified several terrorists who intended to throw stones toward a highway used by Israeli vehicles, according to the IDF Spokesperson.
The IDF said the operation aimed to thwart stone-throwing and terrorist incidents in an area where stones have recently been thrown at Israeli vehicles. Troops opened fire to remove the danger and identified hits, the military said.
