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Photo: Ronny Schitzer
Naughty pilots have Polish fun (Archive photo)
Photo: Ronny Schitzer

Pilots have 'death camp fun'

Two Israeli Air Force pilots enjoy late-night entertainment with local women during trip to Poland camps

Death camps in the morning, party time at night: When the IDF initiated the "Witnesses in Uniforms" project, aimed at educating army officers about the Holocaust, no one believed some would use the emotional missions for different purposes altogether.

 

However, the Air Force sent two gunship pilots to 10 days in a military prison on Monday, after discovering they "spiced up" their visit to death camps in Poland with a little after-hours entertainment with local women at their hotel room, paid for by the army.

 

According to Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the two took part in extensive combat operations in recent months, and were designated to become Air Force flight instructors in the next few months.

 

Strengthening commitment to Israel

 

In recent years, the IDF initiated dozens of death camp tours in Poland in a bid to strengthen army officers' sense of commitment to the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

 

Some 10 days ago, a mission that included officers from all army branches, as well as the two pilots, left for Poland. Senior officers familiar with the affair said the participants were briefed several times regarding proper behavior while in Poland. All mission members were specifically told they are expected to be in bed by midnight, and that they should conduct themselves appropriately in light of the trip's nature.

 

However, on the last day of the visit, the two pilots failed to arrive at their rooms by midnight, and were also reported to have entered the hotel later that night accompanied by two escorts, presumably hookers.

 

Upon their return to Israel, the pilots' case was referred to the attention of IAF Commander Major-General Eliezer Shakedi. Shakedi, the son of Holocaust survivors, treated the matter with the utmost severity and ordered an inquiry be launched into the affair. Subsequently, the two officers were sentenced by the deputy commander of their army base to 10 days in a military prison, a sentence considered extremely harsh for pilots and perhaps the most severe ever handed to pilots for misconduct.

 

Notably, the officers claimed in their interrogation the two women they brought to their room were not prostitutes, but rather, university students they met at a local bar.

 

Before reporting to prison, the pilots were forced to appear before all Air Force flight school commanders and explain what happened during the Poland trip and why they were being sent to prison. The two expressed regret for their actions and said they were not aware of the potential implications.

 

'They should be kicked out'

 

One of the officers that attended the trip said on Wednesday: "All the instructions and restrictions were conveyed to us during the preparations for the trip. During the course of the visit we were repeatedly asked to be careful and not mess around, although it was obvious no officer marked for a military career would do such a thing."

 

"When I heard of what these two did I was deeply offended, as the son of Holocaust survivors and an army officer," he added. Another high ranking officer was quoted as saying the pilots "should be kicked out of the army."

 

The IDF Spokesperson's Office said in response to the affair: "On the last day of the 'Witnesses in Uniforms' trip to Poland, two IAF members who took part in the mission hosted two local women. Immediately upon their return to the country they faced a disciplinary trial and sentenced to 10 days in a military jail."

 

"The two are scheduled to face an IAF committee that will discuss their military future," the Spokesperson's Office added.

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.16.06, 10:29
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