Israeli analyst and public figure Yakov Kedmi presents his opinion on the military and political situation in the world. International review through the eyes of a specialist who knows global politics from the inside. Video answers to the main questions.
Yakov Kedmi on Eton-TV 12-10-2018 Relations between Russia and Israel
Political scientist Yakov Kedmi gave an assessment of the current situation in Syria and answered questions from viewers of the Eaton-TV channel. What can be affected by the supply of S-300 missile systems and what will the confrontation between Russia and Israel in the region lead to.
Yakov Kedmi on Vesti-FM 20-09-2018 Events in the Middle East
Political observer Yakov Kedmi spoke about the current situation in the Middle East and the world in Yevgeny Satanovsky's program "From 2 to 5". The situation in Syria, the situation in Ukraine and in the Donbass, what Donald Trump has in mind.
Yakov Kedmi on Eaton-TV 13-09-2018 Everything is ready for attack in Syria
On the Eaton.TV channel, Israeli political scientist Yakov Kedmi spoke about the current situation in Syria. The Americans and their allies took under the protection of the terrorists in Idlib. Despite their patronage, the terrorists are doomed.
Yakov Kedmi with Vladimir Solovyov 11-09-2018 Syria and the world
Political observer Yakov Kedmi, on the air of the Evening with Vladimir Solovyov program, spoke about the current situation around Syria. What does the US want and will the Russian-Iranian coalition be able to maintain the military advantage it has gained.
Yakov Kedmi, Vladimir Vasiliev and Mark Sorkin 05-08-2018 Trump and Ukraine
Political scientists Kedmi, Vasilyev and Sorkin discussed the military-political situation in the world on the Ledokol channel. What Donald Trump wants, what he talked about with Putin and how the Ukrainian issue will be resolved.
Kedmi in Solovyov's program 10-04-2018. One more step and Russia will erase the USA
Political scientist Kedmi in the program Evening with Vladimir Solovyov harshly commented on the current situation in Syria. No US president will allow an American ship to sink, and their behavior in the Middle East is leading to just that.
Kedmi in the program Evening with Solovyov 02-04-2018. How Russia will respond to the West
Political scientist Kedmi in the program of Vladimir Solovyov gave an analysis of the international military-political situation. What is happening in Syria today, how can the united West put pressure on Russia, and what response can be expected from Putin.
Yakov Kedmi in the program Evening 27-03-2018. Confrontation between Russia and the West
In the next issue of Vladimir Solovyov's program, military expert Yakov Kedmi expressed his vision of Russia's confrontation with the united West. In his opinion, the US war against Russia is already underway. The task of the Americans is to remain the sole hegemon on the planet. For this they deserved to receive a sobering slap in the face.
Yakov Kedmi about London's ultimatum and the assassination attempt on Skripal
Answering a question about the assassination attempt on Skripal, political scientist Yakov Kedmi spoke about his vision of the situation with toxic substances in the world.
Yakov Kedmi about the new weapons of Russia
Political and military observer Yakov Kedmi answered Mark Gorin's questions about the latest Russian weapons on the air of the EtonTV channel. How realistic is the weapons presented by Vladimir Putin, how it works and what the Americans will do.
Yakov Kedmi and Mark Sorkin 14-02-18. International position
Today, Yakov Kedmi and the head of the Ledokol news agency, Mark Sorkin, analyzed the international political and military situation. What is happening in the Middle East and how correct is the position of the Russian leadership for the defense of the country.
Yakov Kedmi on air Evening with Vladimir Solovyov 12-02-2018
Political observer Yakov Kedmi, on the program of Vladimir Solovyov on February 12, spoke about current events in Syria. Why Israeli troops attacked the Syrian government forces and how the Israeli Air Force plane was shot down.
J. Kedmi answers to the questions of the Latvian edition Today 12-02-18
Analyst Yakov Kedmi answered questions from the readers of the Segodnya magazine in Latvia at the Eaton-TV studio. In this issue: what to expect in Donbas and Ukraine; Russia's plans for the coming years; what will happen in Syria; the future of the Baltic countries.
Yakov Kedmi on the Eaton-TV channel 10-02-18. Kurds relied on Trump
In the next international review of the Eton-TV channel, presenter Mark Gorin and Israeli political scientist Yakov Kedmi discussed the current situation in Syria. The complex combination and confrontation of several countries in the region is caused by the irresponsible statement of the American general. Who is pursuing what goals in the Middle East.
Watch on youtube
Latest review from Yakov Kedmi on the EtonTV channel 04-02-2018 The situation in Syria
The main topic of the program was Vladimir Putin's meeting with the Israeli delegation and the talks on Syria. Iran is dissatisfied with the weak effectiveness of the transfer of weapons to Lebanon and this affects its position. What will change after Putin's communication with Nitanyahu and how the situation in the Middle East will change.
Kedmi also outlined his vision of Russia's goals in the region. Watch on youtube.
Update regularly, come back
Yakov Kedmi 05-05-2017. Ukraine and the world
On the eve of Victory Day, Israeli analyst, political and public figure Yakov Kedmi answered questions from Mark Sorkin (Ledokol agency) about the events in Ukraine and the military-political situation around the world. Confrontation between Russia and the West, the situation in Syria, Europe today.
The political scientist Kedmi also spoke about further development events in the Donbass and the US attempt to control the seaports of Primorye. An analysis of the first months of Trump's rule and the future of the European Union.
Fresh videos regularly, come back
Yakov Kedmi is well known to Russian viewers from television shows. When they give the floor to Kedmi, few dare to interrupt or chatter. Impeccable Russian language, reasoned arguments and iron logic make the audience listen carefully, interrupting his monologues only with well-deserved applause.
Former Muscovite Yakov Kazakov received the surname Kedmi several years later after a scandalous story that ended with his move to Israel. He was the first of those who, having no relatives in Israel, received official permission to travel to this country. It was his first, but not the last victory. Therefore, the title of his recently published book, Hopeless Wars, should not be taken literally. The battles that he got in his difficult life only from the side of other skeptics could seem hopeless. In fact, the words “seemingly” should have been added to the word “hopeless”, or this word should have been quoted in the title of Kedmi’s voluminous and quite frank book. I use below the text of this book, but not only it.
declassified service
The name of the Israeli secret service, Nativ, was made public quite by accident as a result of a reservation by that country's finance minister in the early 1990s. The reason for its special secrecy was that the service actually worked against the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe.
Yakov Kedmi worked for 22 years at Nativ (translated from Hebrew - "Path"), of which 7 years was its leader. The service reported directly to the Prime Minister of the country.
It should be noted that about two decades ago, publications about Nativ began to appear in the open press, so it ceased to be as secret as it was often written about. Even before the memoirs of Y. Kedmi, a book by Isaac Deutschman about the Israeli special services appeared, in which it was written both about the “most secret service” Nativ and about Yakov Kedmi. It was noted that Nativ’s emissaries carried out propaganda and organizational work to stimulate the “Soviet aliya” (“Aliya” - the repatriation of Jews to Israel), and also conducted intelligence work. As for the "recruiting" activities that were attributed to this secret service, according to Kedmi, there was none. The fact is that the need for such recruitment disappeared because of the opportunity to freely collect intelligence information from future repatriates about the political, economic and military situation of their current country of residence.
The leadership of Nativ carefully selected as its representatives ardently dedicated young Zionist volunteers who were well acquainted with ritual (for work in synagogues) and secular Jewish customs, and were also fluent in at least three spoken languages. Kedmi fully met these requirements and got into Nativ not by chance.
First victories
Muscovite Yasha Kazakov first heard the word "Jew" from his peers as a three-year-old child, and with a clearly negative meaning. Educated and fully assimilated parents, Russian Jews, explained to him the meaning of this word. Subsequently, he repeatedly encountered anti-Semitism. Already as a young man, Jacob plunged into reading serious literature. Having turned over in solid Moscow libraries deposits of little-known literature, including treatises of Zionists and anti-Semites, he came to the conclusion that further life in the Soviet Union for him, as a Jew, did not make sense. He had a burning desire to move to live in a country where he, like other Jews, would not be considered an "ugly duckling."
Jacob did not wait long and began to take decisive action aimed at obtaining permission to leave. In February 1967, he broke into the territory of the Israeli embassy and announced that he wanted to move permanently to this country. A week later, he repeated his daring act again and received the coveted forms for immigration at the embassy. In June of the same year, when the USSR severed diplomatic relations with Israel due to the Six-Day War, Kedmi publicly renounced Soviet citizenship, demanding that he be given the opportunity to permanently leave for Israel. At the same time, he entered the US Embassy in Moscow with a request to help him travel to Israel.
On May 20, 1968, Kedmi sent a letter to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in which he harshly condemned the manifestations of anti-Semitism in the country, put forward a demand to deprive him of Soviet citizenship and arbitrarily proclaimed himself an Israeli citizen. There has never been such a precedent in the Soviet Union. In addition, he was able to publish his relevant statements in the Western press. When he eventually looked into his mailbox and found permission to leave for Israel, his triumphant cry pierced all the floors of the house, reaching the ears of his parents. The parents were shocked. But Kedmi did not change his plans and in February 1969 he moved to Israel. Behind him was three courses at the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers and knowledge of Hebrew, which he mastered in anticipation of an exit permit. Upon arrival in Israel, Kedmi decided to go to the Faculty of Scientific Chemistry at the Technion, but a year later he joined the army. He later graduated from the Faculty state sciences And international relations Haifa University and College national security at the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
Yakov Kedmi, immediately after his arrival in Israel, took up the issue of repatriation of Soviet Jews. His parents could not resist his pressure. But the Soviet authorities forbade them to move to him, and his mother was even strongly advised in the relevant authorities to agitate him to return to his homeland. In 1970, the relentless Kedmi went on a hunger strike near the UN building because the Soviet authorities forbade his family from moving in with him. He achieved his goal, and on March 4, 1970, the family reunion took place. After that, Jacob became a fighter in the Israel Defense Forces. His service was held in tank units, and then in a military school and intelligence school.
First disappointments
When Yakov studied at the combined arms officer school, in addition to personal weapons, he received a 52-mm mortar as a platoon weapon. However, the officer, who is also an instructor, did not really explain how to use the mortar, sending him to the cadets who were familiar with this "pipe". The cadets explained to him everything about the mortar, without touching on the details of the firing technique. And, when it came to the final exercises with live firing, Yakov, due to the tank habit of raising his head, and not bending it to the ground, received a severe auditory injury in both ears. The reason for this was the negligence of the instructor and the "disregard" attitude to their duties. This happened two weeks before graduation, and the resulting injury threatened to be expelled from the course. The intervention of the commander of the school, to whom Yakov turned for help, helped to finish his studies.
Jacob had to endure great grief after all his relatives moved to Israel after him. The press widely covered the arrival of his parents, especially the meeting of his father with Shimon Peres, who was then the Minister of Transport and Communications. Peres, who burst into a heartfelt speech, noted that he was glad that people like Jacob's father were coming to Israel, because the country needed highly qualified specialists. When these enthusiasm subsided and everyday life began, it became impossible for Yakov's father to find a job. Moreover, the standard argument for refusal was the verdict that he had “too much high qualification". After spending several years without work, Yakov's father decided to try his luck in other countries. Once in Canada, he soon died in a car accident.
In the same tank with the future prime minister
The Yom Kippur War could well be categorized as "seemingly" hopeless wars. The fact is that it began with the onset of the Egyptians, for which the Israelis were completely unprepared. Neither the intelligence, nor the command, nor the leadership of the country expected the strike and simply overslept it, lulled by the repeated exercises of the Egyptians. I had to make up for lost time by more human casualties (2.8 thousand dead) and destroyed equipment.
In this first war for Yakov Kedmi, he served as the head of the battalion intelligence and the head of the operations department. All control was carried out from the tank of the battalion commander, who was Ehud Barak, the future prime minister of Israel. They spent the Yom Kippur War together in the same tank.
It is noteworthy that Jacob Kedmi characterizes the resistance of the Egyptians as very stubborn and even heroic. I remember the episode when an Egyptian soldier grew to his full height in front of his tank, opening fire on the tank from a Kalashnikov assault rifle. The soldier was not afraid of a tank that ran into him, lay down between the tracks, and when the tank passed, he jumped up and continued to shoot. The daredevil had to be shot...
In the context of the battle, the most difficult in the entire war, Yakov had to go through many bright and dramatic moments. A member of his crew, Major Yishai Izhar, a friend of Ehud Barak, died literally in Yakov's arms, dousing his overalls with all the blood that had flowed from the wound. But the rest had to continue firing, making their way through a flurry of anti-tank missiles. Death was near, and many warriors, remembered for their smile, turned into corpses. It is impossible without a shudder to read the lines about Yakov's participation in the identification of the corpses of burnt tankers. From here, apparently, comes Kedmi's conviction that no opportunity should be missed to resolve issues peacefully, and not on the battlefield.
Memories of Kedmi objectively restore the details of the battles, distorted earlier by propagandists. So, the "heroic battle" of the Israeli paratroopers at the "Chinese Farm" turned out to be not at all heroic. This battle for the airborne battalion ended in failure. He was thrown against the positions of the better armed and tank-supported Egyptians. As a result, the battalion was utterly defeated and dispersed by a more prepared enemy. And they actually failed to stop any "Egyptian attack". According to Kedmi, this shameful fight, called "heroic", was a typical case of propaganda, the purpose of which was to raise morale and hide failures. Jacob did not set himself such a task. And he, for example, truthfully described how four Israeli Skyhawks tried several times over the course of two hours to destroy an artillery battery, but never hit it.
Along with such “window dressing”, Kedmi also observed cases of genuine heroism of the Israelis. His book describes one such act that Yair Tal, the son of General Yisrael Tal, did. A true hero, skillful and courageous, looks like Ehud Barak.
The scenes of the downright caring attitude of the Israelis towards the Egyptians who were captured by them on the western bank of the Suez Canal are impressive. After feeding them dinner, the Israelis sent them to bed, providing them with blankets and food. And in the morning there was a genuine idyll: the captured Egyptians with the Israeli crews of tanks and armored personnel carriers prepared breakfast, which then turned into a joint meal. At the same time, the Egyptians volunteered to help in distributing food and washing dishes ...
When the truce came, Yakov Kedmi had to hand over to the Egyptian side the frightened civilians of the city who were hiding during the fighting. He did not feel like a winner at all and felt ashamed because, with weapons in his hands, he was forced to lead people around the city, confident that their lives were in his hands.
This war freed Jacob from an almost fanatical idealization of the Israeli state and its military-political leadership. He came to a paradoxical conclusion: although the Israelis won on the battlefield, surrounding the Egyptian Third Army and bringing it to the brink of destruction, Sadat actually won the war, since the results of the war corresponded to the goals set by him, and not by Israel.
From the war, Kedmi, according to his confession, came out a different person. He formulated the credo he had suffered through simply and clearly: “There is nothing worse than self-deception - this is a direct path to failure. The truth begins with the fact that a person refuses to lie to himself, and I decided for my own sake never to lie.
The struggle for the exit of Soviet Jews
Yakov Kedmi received an invitation to work for Nativ in 1977 from Menachem Begin, who was recently elected prime minister. Yakov took the surname Kedmi (“Eastern” in Hebrew) when he started working in a special transit emigration center located in Vienna. In 1990, he became deputy director of Nativ, and in 1992, the head of this structure. It was during the period of Kedmi's leadership in Nativ that the maximum influx (almost a million people) of Jews from the countries of the post-Soviet space fell. A significant influx of specialists and prominent scientists played a leading role in the development of Israel as a state.
The proportion of professionals among the repatriates was higher than among the population of the CIS and among Israeli old-timers. Percentage of those with higher and secondary special education among repatriates, it reached 55%, while among the old-timers of Israel, in 1989, before the start of mass immigration, it was only 28%. According to competent Israeli experts, Israel would have remained a more economically backward country if not for the "Russians". Without them, the country's economy would not have been able to make that grandiose leap that took place in recent decades. According to some estimates, if it were not for the "big aliyah", then the proportion of professionals with higher education would not be 20.4%, as it is now, but only 10%. The volume of Israeli exports would not be 80, but 50 billion dollars, while the share of defense spending in the state budget would be not 15%, but 20%. It was the "Russians" who ensured a colossal influx of skilled labor into Israeli industry. Competent and skillful "Russian" workers, distinguished high culture and discipline, provided a sharp increase in labor productivity, which has risen by 30% over 20 years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2009, at the awards ceremony for Israeli immigrant scientists, rightly stated: “Mass immigration to Israel from countries former USSR saved the country's economy, as many repatriates joined high-tech institutions, medicine, and various scientific circles.
Great merit in the resettlement of Jews in historical homeland belongs personally to Kedmi. It was as a result of his efforts that it was possible to redirect the flow of Jews with Israeli visas to Israel, while before that 90% of those leaving went to other countries. Kedmi introduced new exit rules, according to which the arrival of emigrants to Vienna was prevented. Thus, the “screening out” of those who left for another country with Israeli visas has practically ceased.
Soviet hardening
Yakov Kedmi had a chance long time contact the Israeli government elite. These contacts, as a rule, did not cause delight in him. In his book, very few of the country's top leadership are described with sympathy and respect. Portraits of well-known Israeli political figures, officials and former intelligence officers, which Kedmi gives in his book without embellishment, indicating true names and facts, are rich material for biographers and historians.
With caustic irony, Kedmi describes the incident, shameful for the Israelis, with the arrest of Joseph Kobzon, who arrived in Israel on tour. Or another story, when in Moscow, during a reception at the Metropol restaurant, Kobzon was forbidden to sing on behalf of the Israeli delegation. The singer, with tears in his eyes, then asked Kedmi in a trembling voice to help him, and the scandal that was beginning was settled with great difficulty ...
At the end of his book, Yakov Kedmi admits that his main qualities, which ensured success in the struggle and numerous wars, were acquired in Soviet Russia. It is appropriate not to retell his confession, but to quote:
“In Russia, my personality, my moral and moral principles were formed: respect for a person, regardless of his origin, national or religious affiliation, a heightened sense of justice both in society and in general. In Russia, I learned love for the motherland, love for my people and readiness for self-sacrifice in the name of the ideals in which you believe. In Russia, I learned to fight to the end and never give up, even when you are alone against everyone and you have no chance.
... In Russia, I was taught to appreciate the book, culture and education, good upbringing and art. Since childhood, I have been accustomed to be disgusted by cheap and primitive political propaganda, hypocrisy, especially by those in power and party members, and trading in principles and ways of life. In Russia, I learned to treat with contempt people who have dedicated their lives to gain and money. Despite the cruel regime, despite the hypocrisy and lies that filled Soviet society and eventually destroyed it, I acquired all my qualities in Russia and do not regret it at all.
Today, Russian TV channels are literally full of various popular talk shows dedicated to political debates and confrontations in this area. In one of these programs, an inquisitive viewer can very often see a person named Yakov Kedmi, whose biography will be discussed in as much detail as possible in this article. This man deserves our closest attention, because he did a lot for the formation of the modern Israeli state.
Early life
Yakov Iosifovich Kazakov was born on March 5, 1947 in Moscow in a very intelligent family of Soviet engineers. In addition to him, the family had two more children. After our hero graduated from high school, he began working at a factory as a rebar concrete worker. In parallel with this, the young man entered extramural Moscow state university ways and messages.
Manifestation of rebellion
Yakov Kedmi, whose biography is full of various interesting events, 1967, he committed an act that only an extremely desperate young man could have decided in those years and the Young Man came to the gates of the Israeli embassy in Moscow and announced that he wanted to move permanently to this country. Of course, no one let him in, then he broke through to the territory of the consulate by force and abuse, where he was eventually met by a diplomat named Herzl Amikam. The diplomat decided that everything that was happening was a possible provocation on the part of the KGB and therefore did not give a positive answer to the young man's request. However, a week later, the persistent Yakov again got to the embassy and nevertheless received such coveted forms for immigration.
In June 1967, when the USSR severed diplomatic relations with Israel due to the Six-Day War, Kadmi publicly renounced the citizenship of the Union and began to demand that he be given the opportunity to permanently leave for Israel. At the same time, he entered the US Embassy in Moscow, where he had a long conversation with the consul about leaving for the country of the Promised Land.
May 20, 1968 Yakov Kedmi (whose biography is worthy of respect) became the author of a letter that was sent to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In it, the guy harshly condemned manifestations of anti-Semitism and put forward a demand to deprive him of Soviet citizenship. In addition, he arbitrarily declared himself a citizen of the Israeli state. This statement was the first in the Union of such a plan. Ultimately, in February 1969, he nevertheless moved to Israel and, according to some reports, even burned his passport of a Soviet citizen on Red Square. Although Kedmi himself regularly denies this fact.
Life in a new home
Yakov Kedmi, for whom Israel became a new place of residence, upon arrival in the country immediately took up the issue of repatriation of Soviet Jews. In 1970, he even starved near the UN building due to the fact that the Soviet authorities forbade his family to move to him. At the same time, the Americans believed that the young Jew was a secret agent of the KGB. The family reunion took place on March 4, 1970, after which Jacob immediately became a fighter in the Israel Defense Forces. The service took place in tank units. Then there was training at a military school and an intelligence school. In 1973 he was transferred to the reserve. A year before, his son was born.
After Service
Having become a civilian, Yakov went to work in the security service of the Arkiya air terminal. He also became a student at the Israel Institute of Technology in parallel, and a little later successfully completed his studies at Tel Aviv University and the National Security College.
Transition to the secret services
In 1977, Yakov Kedmi, whose biography by that time was already filled with serious achievements, received an invitation to work at the Nativ bureau. This structure was a state Israeli institution, which functioned under the Office of the Prime Minister of the country. The bureau's main responsibility was to maintain contact with Jews abroad and assist them in emigrating to Israel. At the beginning of its existence, Nativ actively worked with Jews living both in the USSR and other countries of Eastern Europe. Moreover, at first, emigration took place illegally. By the way, Yakov received the surname Kedmi already in 1978, when he worked in a special transit emigration center located in Vienna.
Raise
In 1990, Kedmi moved up the career ladder and became deputy director of Nativ. In the period 1992-1998. Jacob was already the head of the structure. It was during the period of Kedmi's leadership in the bureau that the maximum influx of Jews from the countries of the post-Soviet space fell. During this time, almost a million people moved to Israel. Such a significant influx of specialists and prominent scientists played an important role in the development of Israel as a state. The colossal merit in the resettlement of Jews to their historical homeland belongs to Kedmi.
Departure from Nativ
In the fall of 1997, Yakov received an invitation to serve on a committee that dealt with the problem of increasing Iranian aggression and improving relations between Moscow and Tehran. It is worth noting that new job Kedmi was personally proposed by the then Prime Minister of Israel. In the process of work, Yakov made a proposal to involve influential Jews in the deterioration of relations between Russia and Iran Russian Federation. However, Netanyahu rejected this proposal, which served to cool relations between him and Kedmi.
In 1999, Yakov finally leaves the special services. His retirement was preceded whole line serious scandals that were directly related to Nativ. Structures such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shabak intelligence and Mossad were categorically against the functioning of Nativ. According to Kedmi himself, after his retirement, he became an ordinary pensioner, although he received a pension equal to that of a general.
In the same 1999, Jacob initiated a public discussion of his differences with Netanyahu. The former head of Nativ picketed the prime minister with his criticism for allegedly betraying the interests of the Jews and destroying relations with the Russian Federation.
Family status
Yakov Kedmi, for whom his family plays a leading role all his life, has been married for a very long time. His wife, Edith, is a food chemist by education, for some time she was an employee of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. After almost 40 years of continuous work, she retired. The couple raised two sons and a daughter.
The eldest son of the couple studied at the Interdisciplinary College in Herzliya, has two diplomas of higher education. Daughter graduated from the Academy of Arts.
Our days
Yakov Kedmi says one thing about Russia - until 2015, this country was banned for him. But now the situation has changed, an influential Jew is a fairly frequent guest in the Russian Federation. He often visits various political shows on television as an expert. Most often, he can be seen in the program of Vladimir Solovyov, aired on the Russia-1 channel.
In addition, the Dialogues program, well known to many, is very popular. Yakov Kedmi in it discusses the topics of the Middle East, international politics and the world economy with another specialist in this area - a Russian Quite often, Yakov is invited to the authoritative radio station Vesti-FM.
