Hananel Dayan: Described as Israeli hero
Photo: Channel 10
Soldier who snubbed Halutz praised
Hananel Dayan described as 'our hero' by Gush Katif evacuees after refusing to shake chief of staff's hand at ceremony for excelling soldiers
Staff Sgt. Hananel Dayan is receiving broad support from the Right, after refusing to shake the hand of Chief of Staff Major General Dan Halutz
at a ceremony to hand out awards of excellence to soldiers at the official Jerusalem residence of President Katsav on Independence Day.
A soldier who was evacuated from Gush Katif a number of months ago told Ynet, "I give Dayan full credit for what he did. It's not easy to serve in the army after what it did to me and my family. There is indecision on whether to continue to serve in this army which kicked us out of our homes. I also would not be able to shake the chief of staff's hands in the ceremony."
Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe from the Save the Nation and Land organization announced that a special ceremony would be held for the soldier, where he would receive a certificate declaring him an Israeli hero. According to Rabbi Wolpe, the soldier refused to shake Halutz's hand because he was disgusted by the expulsion and destruction of settlements.
'Halutz should check himself'
Knesset Member Zvi Hendel of the Ichud Leumi - Mafdal party, who was evacuated from Gush Katif, said he understood the soldier's conduct. "I suggest the chief of staff check himself and his boastful behavior, which is patronizing, and at times incites against the settler public, especially the evacuees," Hendel said.
The Professors for a Strong Israel organization also expressed its support for the soldier's act, which it described as a "moral protest… Members of the organization express their understanding for the soldier's behavior which could not act as if he were in the early, innocent days of the first Independence Day, following the use of the IDF to evict Israeli civilians from their homes in their country."
Gush Katif evacuees who heard of the incident believe the soldier will increase publicity of their condition to the public.
A woman who was evacuated from Gush Katif said: "When we asked to hold a ceremony on Memorial Day for Israel's fallen, and asked the help of the Defense Minister and the army to hold the ceremony in Nitzan in which two soldiers are buried, no one helped us, and therefore we had to wage a war in order to hold the ceremony. There's no doubt that Hananel should not have shaken his hand. For us he is the man who is currently at the forefront of our struggle, he is our little hero in the fight for our survival."
Shmulik Hadad, Efrat Weiss, and Hanan Greenberg contributed to this report
