An Israeli military hero's stark warning about institutional decay emerged in 1979 when Colonel Yaacov Hasdai published his controversial assessment of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) following the Yom Kippur War. Drawing on his twenty-two years of military service and role as chief investigator for the Agranat Commission, Hasdai challenges the cherished notion of the IDF as Israel's moral compass. Instead of leading Israeli society, he argues, the military now mirrors its declining values. Through detailed examination of military discipline, officer retention, strategic thinking, and social integration, Hasdai demonstrates how careerism has displaced the sense of mission that historically characterized Israeli defense forces. The analysis exposes systemic inequalities, particularly the underrepresentation of Sephardic Jews in leadership positions despite comprising over half the population. Echoing Ahad HaAm's early Zionist critiques, Hasdai questions fundamental Israeli axioms about national identity and Diaspora relations while advocating for sweeping social reforms through rigorous self-examination. His work stands as both a warning and a call to action for Israeli and Diaspora Jewish communities to recommit to ensuring national survival and cultural continuity.