An Israeli panel of experts hailed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their devotion to state security was pilloried Tuesday by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon for "gambling on the security of the citizens of Israel."

The commission of experts, led by retired Israel Air Force Maj. Gen. Yohanan Locker, a former military secretary and trusted adviser to Netanyahu, was appointed in May 2014 to evaluate Israeli defense spending in the context of other socio-economic needs of the state.

In findings presented Tuesday, it called for capping the defense budget at $15.5 billion annually through 2020 and myriad efficiency measures, including reduced mandatory service, higher retirement ages and restricted pension benefits for noncombatant personnel.

Among the 53 recommendations included in the 77-page report, the Locker Commission urged that some $2.5 billion in savings to be gained through efficiency measures be reinvested in Israeli defense.

It also recommended that Israel request higher levels of annual US military Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grant aid once the current $30 billion, 10-year agreement expires in 2018.

Yet Ya'alon, in an extraordinarily strident response, accused the panel for "unprecedented incitement" against those serving in career IDF positions and their findings as "superficial, unbalanced in the extreme and completely divorced from reality."

In his lengthy July 22 response, Ya'alon said the commission's recommendations, if implemented, would lead to a mass exodus of the men and women who opted for a military career.

Further, he accused commission members — including Yossi Ackerman, a former longtime Chief Executive Officer of Elbit Systems — of fomenting animosity among the general public, which already disparages the perceived disproportionate percentage of government spending earmarked for defense.

According to Ya'alon, the commission's findings harm "tens of thousands of service memers and their families" and supports those "who relate to [the career army] as engaging in 'looting,' 'theft' and 'corruption'; [and] who compare them to robbers of the public coffers… [and] who turn them into enemies."

He noted that men and women in the professional service of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are already tainted by public perceptions of plundering government resources.

"The fact that those [serving in the professional army] are embarrassed to go out on the street in uniform is a mark of Cain; and it's a result of the unbearable lashing out" at them.

"The recommendations of the Locker Commission with regard to professional service members and their conditions are Draconian, hurtful, unjust and immoral," Ya'alon added.

As for the proposal to cut mandatory service of men from the current 32 months to 24 months, Ya'alon said it marked "a complete lack of understanding" on the part of commission members.

"There's no other way to explain this recommendation that appears in the Locker Commission. In light of the complexity of the threats around us and the duration of IDF readiness, the immediate significance of this will be to cut our active duty army by a third, insufficient training and low readiness."

Additionally, he said reducing mandatory service periods would require additional spending on reserve forces, which would strain the economy.

Ya'alon was particularly indignant at the commission's call for greater transparency and oversight of the Israeli defense establishment.

"The claims that the defense establishment and the IDF are not transparent are hurtful lies, and in fact — as part of the incitement against our career army and the defense establishment — turn our officers and security leaders into liars," Ya'alon said.

He noted that during 2014, IDF officers and security leaders appeared in 192 meetings of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee; and that budget and planning matters are presented and discussed in a spectrum of for a, including the Security Cabinet and the National Security Council.

"Therefore, the attempt to harm the authority of the defense minster to oversee the defense establishment; and the authority of the director-general of the Ministry of Defense to oversee his ministry and the authority of the IDF chief of staff to oversee the IDF means paralysis of our ability to function," Ya'alon said.

For his part, Netanyahu distanced himself from his defense chief; refusing to criticize the commission he appointed last year.

On the contrary, upon Tuesday's receipt of the document, he praised Locker and commission members for their hard work.

"This is a very important document. I know you've devoted your life to the security of Israel, as have other members [of the commission]. I know it was a struggle and an effort," Netanyahu said.

Email: bopallrome@defensenews.com

About Barbara Opall-Rome

Opall-Rome is Israel bureau chief for Defense News. She has been covering U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation, Mideast security and missile defense since May 1988. She lives north of Tel Aviv. Visit her website at www.opall-rome.com.

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