By any reasonable measure, former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant should be keeping a very low profile right now. Instead, he appeared on CNN today, wagging his finger at the United States and declaring that America has an “obligation” to support Israel in its war against Iran.
The arrogance is staggering.
This is the same Yoav Gallant who held the most important security portfolio in Israel when Hamas broke through the Gaza border and massacred over a thousand Israelis on October 7th, 2023. The same Gallant who presided over one of the most devastating military and intelligence failures in modern Jewish history. Before he demands anything from America, he should be held accountable for failing to meet the most basic obligations of his own job.
Gallant’s first responsibility was to keep the country safe. He failed. The Gaza border was left disgracefully vulnerable. Warnings were ignored. Defense protocols were outdated or absent. And when Israeli soldiers were finally sent into combat, many of them lacked even the most basic equipment—helmets, ceramic vests, working radios. These weren’t abstract policy failures. They cost lives.
And where was Gallant as the threat escalated over the summer? In August 2023, just weeks before the massacre, instead of closely monitoring the border or preparing for a possible escalation, Gallant was in Chicago, fundraising for FIDF in someone’s backyard. Thousands of miles from the danger zone, smiling for photos, while Hamas prepared for the deadliest attack on Israel in generations.
Now, from the safety of a CNN interview, Gallant has the nerve to lecture America on what it supposedly “owes” Israel.
Let’s be clear: Israel absolutely should make the case that it is in America’s interest to help defeat the Iranian regime and its terror proxies. That’s a legitimate and strategic argument. But to claim that the U.S. is obligated to do so—especially coming from a man who didn’t fulfill his own most basic obligations—is beyond tone-deaf. It’s offensive.
If Gallant wants to contribute to Israel’s future, he should start with humility. He should apologize to the families who lost loved ones on October 7th. Apologize to the soldiers he failed to equip. Apologize to a nation that entrusted him with its security—and was betrayed.
Yoav Gallant may go down as the most failed Minister of Defense in the history of the Jewish people. And with that legacy, he should stop chasing microphones, stop pointing fingers, and above all:
Be quiet.
