Retired Maj. Gen. Gil Regev, a former fighter pilot who served as head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, said in a conversation with Guy Peleg on the All-In podcast that he has more in common with Palestinian Arabs than with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Asked what he and Smotrich have in common, Regev replied emphatically, “Nothing." When Peleg suggested that they are both Jewish, Regev dismissed the idea.
“That’s nonsense. I happen to be Jewish; my mother was Jewish. Nobody checked, but I think we tell the truth," he said.
Regev went on to describe encounters with Palestinians during his career, including in Rafah, Sinai and Judea and Samaria.
“I can share a plate of hummus with a Palestinian. I’ve done that in the past," he said, recalling a period when he worked on the construction of prefabricated buildings, including on the roof of the Rafah municipality building.
“We worked in Judea and Samaria. Palestinians worked alongside us for a full day, two days, sometimes longer. We would share hummus and eat olives. In those moments, we would talk about life, not politics or the occupation, just life. They told me about their lives. I understood that they wanted to live," he said.
Regev explained that these personal encounters had created a sense of human connection that he did not feel with the finance minister.
“They and I had more in common than I will ever have with Smotrich. I will never have that kind of connection with him, where we sit at the same plate, pita touching pita," he said.
Regev added, “I ask myself, what do I have to do with him? Nothing. I have nothing in common with them."
Later in the conversation, Regev was asked why he chooses to remain in Israel despite his feelings. He replied, “I’m old. Where would I go? I have family and friends. I live in a bubble."