Hananel Dayan refused to shake hands with Chief of Staff Halutz

Soldier who snubbed Halutz ejected

Hananel Dayan, an excelling soldier, who refused to shake hands with the chief of staff at an awards ceremony, was ejected from his division

Hanan Greenberg|Last update: 05.05.06 , 12:52

Sergeant Hananel Dayan, the soldier who refused to shake hands with Chief of Staff Dan Halutz during a ceremony to distribute awards for excelling, was ejected from the Barak division, and will apparently no longer be able to hold a position of authority.

The decision was taken late on Thursday evening by the commander of the Barak division, Colonel Moshe Sheetrit, after he spoke with the soldier and with the battalion commander.

The decision to eject the solder was taken due to his behavior at the ceremony and the fact that he was unwilling to apologize to the chief of staff at a later stage. The IDF says it sees such behavior as a political protest which has no place among soldiers.

A hearing was held for the soldier by the IDF's Head of the Personnel Directorate Major General Elazar Stern. The soldier detailed his feelings and the reasons for taking the decision not to shake the chief of staff's hand. The hearing last half an hour, at the end of which Major General Stern said he would take a decision next week on whether to withdraw the commendation received by the soldier.

'Mafia style'

Ayela, Hananel's mother, told Ynet in response on Friday morning that "the army is out of its mind. Where is proportion? The chief of staff and the army is shooting itself in the leg. Hananel himself accepts the verdict and when he took the decision he knew he would pay a price." Yosef, Hananel's father, said that "he didn't do anything that can be tried. Hananel is embarrassed, he is young, and didn't do things according to the script. He didn't want to be a hero, and the army pressured him. Major General Stern told him that if he would apologize, nothing would happen. This is really a mafia style."

Far-Right activist Baruch Marzel, responding to the ejection, said he "will send flowers to Hananel."

"Dayan is an Israeli hero and all IDF soldiers should learn from him. If his commendation is taken away and its reward, we will raise the fund for him," said Marzel.

A lawyer for Hananel Dayan said that if the decision is not cancelled, he will appeal to the High Court.

Lawyer Adi Kidar said that "shaking hands is not a military order" and added that "the soldier carried out all of the orders given to him and there is no reason to take steps against him which are not in the legal framework."