Shaul Mofaz
From AICbackground
Kadima Party Senior Leader
"We are going to fight against the roots of the terror in order to stop the suicide attacks inside the heart of Israel."
"We are going to fight only against the terrorists, not against the Palestinian people. ... It is very important for us because we know that the Palestinians are going to live side-by-side with us for a long time. And one of our goals is to [make] easier the life of the Palestinians."
"I said, I believe two years ago, that the Palestinian Authority, it is a terrorist entity from tie to toe… I suggest them to stop the terror activity against us, and to sit around the table of negotiation."
You were born in Iran in 1948, the year of Israel's creation. You immigrated to Israel with your family at the age of nine, in 1957, where you have continued to live ever since. You are currently married to your wife Orit, with whom you have had four children: Maya, Yonatan, Itamar, and Noa.
Your move into politics follows a long military career, in which you have been credited with helping to transform the Israeli army into the Middle East's mightiest fighting force.
In 1966, at the age of eighteen, you joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), enlisting in the elite paratrooper division. One year later, in 1967, the six-day war broke out where you fought heroically. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, you commanded an elite unit of paratroopers and participated in Israel's most audacious hostage rescue operation in Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976, rescuing a hijacked plane full of hostages from Palestinian guerrillas. You then filled several other command positions in the Paratroop Brigade, including the Paratroop Reconnaissance Unit and a paratroop battalion, served as a Deputy Paratroop Brigade Commander, and commanded the Paratroop Brigade. During the 1982 Operation Peace for Galilee, You commanded an infantry brigade when Israel's then-defense minister Ariel Sharon orchestrated Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
In 1993, you were appointed commander of IDF forces in Judea and Samaria (the Hebrew term for the West Bank) and were subsequently promoted to the rank of major general. In 1994, you were named head of the IDF Southern Command. Your appointment fell during a period of unrest following the signing of the Oslo Accords, which included strenuous fighting against terror alongside early implementation of the agreements signed with the Palestinians.
In 1996, you were appointed head of the IDF Planning Directorate in General Headquarters (GHQ). In this framework, you headed the IDF delegation in negotiations with the Syrians and the Palestinians. In 1997, you were appointed deputy chief of General Staff.
On July 9th, 1998, you took over the position of chief of staff, head of the Israeli army. As head of the Israeli Defense Forces, you oversaw an overhaul of the military in order to make it more efficient and effective going into the 21st century. In addition, you took over the army in a time of turmoil. The Intifada would break out in late 2000, placing the Israeli army in the difficult position of defending Israeli citizens from unpredictable suicide bombings and guerrilla warfare.
During your time in office, much emphasis was placed on respect for fellow men in the IDF and in the implementation of equal service rights for women. It was under your tenure that women were first allowed to serve in elite units as well as combat pilots. You worked toward deepening the relationship between the IDF and the community and increasing awareness of the importance of this relationship. One of the major landmarks of this effort was Project ATIDIM, which aimed at providing equal opportunities for technological education for youth from periphery towns. Yet you have also come under harsh criticism for the use of too much force in retaliating against Palestinian resistance. This includes the use of assassinations, house demolitions, and closures and checkpoints.
One of the most difficult tasks of your tenure was overseeing the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon that began in 1982. Over 1,000 Israeli soldiers lost their lives in patrolling the hostile border between Lebanon and Israel. In the last two years of your term of office as chief of General Staff, you oversaw the Israel war against terrorism. On July 9, 2002, after a four-year tour of duty, you completed your assignment as the 16th IDF chief of General Staff. Right after retiring from a long career in the army, you immediately entered politics, joining the ruling Likud party. Though the law states that one must be at least six months out of uniform before he is allowed to enter the Knesset, Prime Minister Sharon appointed you Minister of Defense in late 2002.
In that position, you were in charge of fighting the Palestinian intifada, or uprising. You have made no secret of your contempt for the Palestinian Authority, adopting increasingly tough tactics, which alarmed left-wing critics and human rights groups. You repeatedly advocated Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's expulsion from the Palestinian territories. Additionally, under your command, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) stepped up demolitions of Palestinian suicide bombers' homes and blockades of Palestinian towns and villages. The IDF also carried out dozens of "targeted killings" of leading Palestinian militants.
You were reluctantly supportive of Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan, a plan to unilaterally leave the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in mid-2005, evacuating all Jewish settlements in the way. Nonetheless, you were a key ally of Prime Minister Sharon, and consolidated a strong following in the ruling Likud party.
In 2005, when Sharon created his new party, Kadima, you decided not to join and decided to run for leadership of Likud. A month later, you realized that you had made the wrong decision and left the Likud to join Kadima, following your long-time patron who, tragically, was soon befallen by a stroke and became comatose, ultimately being replaced by Ehud Olmert. After the legislative elections of 2006, you were moved from Defense Minister to Transport Minister in the new Cabinet.
In 2008, you decided to run for leadership of the Kadima party against Tzipi Livni. Ehud Olmert was the current Prime Minister and was going to resign, which gave you interest in attaining leadership. It had always been your goal to become Prime Minister and this was your chance. When running against Livni, you each took a very different path with the campaign. Livni focused on negotiations with the Palestinians and ignored party relationships. As Olmert was considered to be corrupt, Livni wanted to appear “clean” and anti-corruption. However, you took the route of becoming more involved and closer with the parties. You got to know every important activist of the Kadima party extremely well. You believe in fighting against Hezbollah and all that it stands for. Also, you ran a campaign that somewhat targeted Livni and portrayed her negatively. On the other hand, Livni’s campaign was more focused with a clear vision of her image in the media. Unfortunately, you narrowly lost the election for party leadership by one percent. This left you second on the Kadima list. When this loss occurred, many expected that you would continue to put pressure on Livni and vie with her for the party leadership. But you say that you have no such ambitions any longer and need a break from political life.
You kept your seat in the Knesset in the 2009 legislative elections, but you lost your cabinet position of Transportation Minister when your former ally, Benjamin Netanyahu, formed the new government. As the Netanyahu government establsihed itself, talk emerged that you were considering leading a break-away faction from Kadima that would affiliate with Netanyahu's Likud Coalition. Even from the minority side of the aisle, you are drawing a great deal of attention and speculation about your plans.
