New details surrounding a controversial incident in the Givati Brigade indicate that soldiers refused to participate in an urgent Gaza operation alongside a female paramedic even after the brigade’s rabbi permitted them to do so, ultimately prompting the IDF to cancel the mission.
Arutz Sheva-Israel National News reported Wednesday evening that additional information had emerged about the confrontation involving soldiers from Givati’s Rotem Battalion, who declined to enter a Namer armored personnel carrier because a female paramedic was inside.
A source familiar with the incident said the company commander personally addressed the soldiers and stressed that the planned operation was both important and urgent. Despite his explanation, the soldiers maintained that they would not board the vehicle.
The brigade’s rabbi was also brought into the discussion, according to the source. After considering the operational circumstances, he ruled that because of the mission’s importance and urgency, the soldiers were permitted to participate even though the female paramedic would be traveling with them.
The IDF said Rotem Battalion troops operating in the Gaza Strip were instructed overnight to carry out an operational assignment that required a patrol aboard a Namer APC. The military noted that under the Joint Service Order, religiously observant soldiers are generally entitled to conduct operational activities within a gender-based framework, except in unusual circumstances.
“In the described case, the troops refused to conduct an operation, and therefore, it was canceled,” the IDF stated. The military added that it is continuing to review the incident.
The IDF is treating the soldiers’ actions as a refusal to obey orders. According to information obtained by Arutz Sheva, disciplinary proceedings are expected and command measures are likely to be imposed. That represents a development from an earlier report, which said no disciplinary proceedings had yet taken place while the military investigated the circumstances.
The episode began when three soldiers declined to enter the Namer because the female paramedic was aboard. Sources familiar with what happened said commanders subsequently asked the remaining members of the platoon whether any of them would agree to ride in the vehicle with her, with the soldiers maintaining that no one was prepared to do so.
Arutz Sheva reported that Rav Tzvi Kostiner, rosh yeshiva of the Mitzpe Ramon Yeshiva, and Rav Shlomo Shushan, rosh yeshiva of the Beit She’an Yeshiva, both of whom have talmidim serving in the platoon, instructed their talmidim not to enter the vehicle.
The Union of Hesder Yeshivas came to the soldiers’ defense, arguing that their actions were consistent with existing IDF regulations governing the service of religious soldiers.
“The Union emphasizes that the soldiers acted in accordance with the Joint Service Order, and the IDF is expected to uphold and respect the order and allow a soldier who observes Jewish law to serve in accordance with his beliefs. Accordingly, there is obviously no justification for punishing soldiers who acted in accordance with the order.”
{Matzav.com}
