Moshe Yaalon. (photo credit: Ziv Koren)
Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon is currently Israel’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Strategic Affairs. He’s a senior military and foreign affairs advisor to Netanyahu, and previously served as the Israeli Defense Force’s chief of staff. Some keen observers of the Israeli political scene believe that when this month’s elections are over and the dust of the political season has settled, Ya’alon will be the next Minister of Defense.
While that is by no means clear, this week Ya’alon was interviewed by an Israeli news service on a range of important issues. Given Ya’alon’s already prominent role in the future of the Jewish State — and his possible rise to even more power — it’s an interview worth reading.
Among the questions he was asked:
- It seems as if the Iranian issue has disappeared from the election campaign. Is this deliberate?
- Will you be the next defense minister?
- Are you concerned over the Hagel appointment?
- What about those who say that [Naftali] Bennett [a very right-wing emerging Israeli politician] has taken votes from the Likud due to the moderate diplomatic agenda that you have pursued in the last four years?
- Will you have a difficult time sleeping at night [if] Shelly Yachimovich [a left-wing Israeli politician] becomes Prime minister?