'If we see a monster along our border, we have to attack it'

‘I want to fix the IDF’: Noam Tibon on the impact of Oct. 7 and what he plans to do in Knesset

Retired general who rescued his family from Hamas details plans for assertive defense policy, calls to expand the army’s ground forces and end what he sees as its politicization

The morning after he mounted a harrowing mission to rescue his son’s family from Hamas terrorists on October 7,  2023, Noam Tibon says, he “woke up a different man.”

That experience, more than two years ago, led the retired major general to take a leading role in anti-government protests during the war and, three weeks ago, to throw his hat into the political ring as the latest addition to Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid party.

Now, Tibon, 63, says he has hugely ambitious goals for what he hopes will be his time in the Knesset and the government: He wants, he summarizes, to “fix the IDF,” which he says has become politicized and too tame in fighting enemies beyond its borders.

Like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former premier Naftali Bennett, Tibon served in the Israel Defense Forces’ elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit. He later rose through the ranks, eventually commanding the army’s Northern Corps.

Tibon exited the military a decade ago and later founded the Defensive Shield of Israel Forum, comprising former IDF Chiefs of Staff, Shin Bet heads, and other generals and security officials, which has called for the current government to be replaced. He also led the Generals’ Project, a post-October 7 initiative that dispatched reserve generals to communities in the south.

Tibon gained renown in Israel and beyond for heading south during the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught to rescue his son, Haaretz journalist Amir Tibon, his daughter-in-law, and their two young children from their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz while it was under attack. An award-winning documentary was subsequently made about that rescue.

Sitting with The Times of Israel in a lively north Tel Aviv cafe earlier this month, Tibon discussed the impact of his October 7 experience, his decision to run for Knesset, and what he hopes to do once there, including demanding Haredi conscription and changes to the way Israel’s military protects its citizens.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

The Times of Israel: Over the past two years, you’ve been very active in the anti-government protest movement. What led you to decide to transition to a full-time politician?

Noam Tibon: I will start on October 7, because this day basically changed my life. On October 7, on my journey to rescue my family… I saw the failure of the IDF, I saw the failure of the government.

On October 8, I woke up a different man. Basically, I said that everybody who was in charge of this failure… particularly Benjamin Netanyahu, needs to take responsibility and go away.

And I understood on October 8 that the IDF is too small. We lacked three divisions on that day. And since then, we lost one more division, more than 900 casualties and 20,000 wounded… and the only population that can fill the [gap] is the ultra-Orthodox.

And since then, since this terrible day, I’ve been fighting for those issues… That’s why I decided to join politics once I finished my mission, once the war ended. Most of the hostages are back home, and we’re entering an election year. I chose Yesh Atid because this is the party of the civil servants and the middle class.

Do you see yourself as a political centrist like Lapid? What has your political orientation been?

Yes, I’m in the center, and I’m going to focus on security. This is my profession. I will bring security to the people of Israel. Personal security — because what’s going on today under this clown [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir is terrible — but also security along the borders. I want to fix the IDF. I know how to do it.

What kinds of reforms are you advocating?

I want to change the whole Israeli security strategy. I believe that we cannot [continue with] containment. If somebody along our border in the future, in Judea and Samaria or any country, is threatening the state of Israel, we’re going to attack. We’re not waiting.

The first thing I will work on and change is the Israeli doctrine. I will bring back the option of ‘preventative war,’ preemptive action.

We’ll start with the doctrine. Then we will build up the IDF so that every minute everybody in Israel will be protected, and that’s why we need a lot of soldiers… and we will reorganize Israeli intelligence because the problem is not getting intelligence [but rather] how to understand the intelligence. So there are a lot of things to do.

Netanyahu and [former Mossad chief] Yossi Cohen brought money from Qatar, cash money into Hamas’ hands so that Hamas [would] be quiet. We know it was that which made Hamas a monster. [Netanyahu believed that] Hamas is an asset [and] is deterred. This led to October 7. That’s why if we see a monster along our border, we have to attack it. We cannot wait.

How would you reorganize the military, both in terms of how it’s structured, in terms of force composition, in terms of defense doctrine?

We will have to build border forces and three more maneuver divisions [that carry out ground offensives]. There will be forces that will be in charge of security… and there will be maneuver forces ready for action. We will need to be ready to fight on two fronts simultaneously.

[But] the most important issue is to take the politics out of the military. What we are seeing now under ‘Evasion Minister’ Katz, [Defense Minister Israel Katz,] is that he is bringing politics into the military.

You’re talking about his public feud with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir?

Yeah. It’s all politics. His mission is only to give backing to the IDF and Zamir and instead he is fighting for [the continued] evasion [of military service by the ultra-Orthodox community].

Prime Minister Netanyahu has said he wants to strengthen domestic military production. Do you think this is correct?

Let me tell you something that really worries me, and I will answer the question. Today in Gaza, control is not in the hands of Israel [but] is in the hands of the United States. That has never happened before.

I believe that we have a wonderful security industry, from tanks all the way to cyber. And yes, we need all artillery and almost everything that you can build here, you have to build here, so in case there’s an [arms] embargo, we will not stop [military operations]. But Bibi is doing the opposite. He’s saying this, but on the other hand, he’s giving more control to the United States.

Are you saying Israel should be trying to lessen its dependence on US military aid? Does it make us too reliant on a foreign power, even a friendly one?

I believe that Israel is the only entity that [is] in charge of our country’s security. We need a strategic relationship with the United States. This is very important. But in terms of forces on the ground, Israel and the IDF [are] the only ones that should be in charge. I think what’s going on in Gaza today is very dangerous in terms of this principle.

I think that when you look at the future, you have to build yourself up [for] a day when the United States will say: “Listen, guys, we are cutting this budget.”

Are we in any danger of another October 7-type attack from the West Bank or from Lebanon in the future?

I hope not, but we have to get ready. That’s why we need more soldiers. I’ll show you the process in Nahal Oz. When [my son] Amir and [and his wife] Miri came to Nahal Oz there were soldiers inside the kibbutz.

Then they built the fence. So there were soldiers only at the gate.

Then they said, ‘Okay, we have all these electronics. We don’t need soldiers at all.’ On October 7, they were fighting alone. That’s why I believe for the next 20, 30 years, we will need soldiers… all over.

Everywhere that there are Jewish people, we need to guard them.

Do you want to be the defense minister?

My goal is to be part of a team, to win the election and to build a strong and stable government. For now, I’m not talking about any position.