The Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security

Speaking at event hosted by Jerusalem ‎Institute for Strategic Studies, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman details IDF ‎deployment in exact ‎numbers, which are classified • As minister outranks military censor, it is unclear if he violated guidelines.

Israel Hayom 22.10.2018

By Ariel Kahana

 

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday ‎accidentally revealed sensitive information on military manpower. ‎

Speaking at a symposium hosted by the Jerusalem ‎Institute for Strategic Studies, which was streamed ‎live online, Lieberman spoke of “peak IDF ‎deployment” and went into detail, including exact ‎numbers, which are classified. ‎

Lieberman was commenting on a recent report by IDF Ombudsman Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Brik, which claimed that the army was ‎unprepared for war.

“Some of Maj. ‎Gen. Brik’s remarks were true, but overall, he was ‎wrong. The IDF has is in peak readiness,”‎ Lieberman said.

Had anyone else gone into such detail, they would have been in violation of military censorship regulations. The Military Censor’s ‎Office scrutinizes the publication of any ‎information on the IDF and Israel’s ‎intelligence agencies.‎

However, there is a legal dispute as to whether the defense ‎minister and the chief of staff can actually be ‎accused of such violations, as both outrank the military ‎censor and therefore can determine what information ‎falls under the regulations.

Israel Hayom, 22.10.2018