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Colonel Harel Knafo

There is a fascinating feature in Friday's Haaretz magazine, about Colonel Harel Knafo, who has been commander of the Samaria Brigade for the past two years and is now taking leave after 21 years in the IDF.

Knafo strongly rejects the myths that young soldiers lack motivation and that morale is low: "Twenty years ago, books would have been written about the amazing operations carried out here by the elite units of the Paratroops, Haruv, Egoz, the naval commandos, and Duvdevan. Today? There's not a word about it in the newspaper. It isn't newsworthy. I don't remember a single instance of messing up or of cowardice under fire. I've been in the army for 21 years and I don't remember as glorious a period. The achievements are tremendous. The tragedy is that the feeling among the public is the opposite of what the army itself feels.

"There has never been professionalism such as that demonstrated by these young soldiers. They say that the motivation of the young people is declining, that they are no longer imbued with a sense of mission, that volunteerism has disappeared - and I find that the exact opposite is true. Any way you look at it, whether we're talking about esprit de corps or about standards, if I compare them to the outstanding company in which I grew up in the Paratroops - they're far better. If only I as a platoon commander had reached their level. The conclusion is clear: The generation is becoming increasingly stronger, but the country doesn't know it."

The entire feature is extremely enlightening and a very worthwhile read.
posted on 8/26/2004