Former-IDF censor: I also have revealing photos
Racy photos of female IDF soldiers receive world-wide coverage, giving term Gaza Strip new meaning. Former IDF censor tells Channel 10: 'I also have similar photos from my time in basic training'
After racy photos of female IDF soldiers caused a media storm, on Wednesday the IDF's former Chief Censor Colonel (Res.) Rachel Dolev admitted to Channel 10's morning show that "I also have these kinds of photos, but they are locked inside an album in my storeroom."
Last weekend, a number of pictures uploaded to Facebook – in which female soldiers, apparently instructors from the IDF's infantry school in the south can be seen only in their underwear – received numerous shares online. A short while after their publication, additional photos were uploaded, causing the pictures, as well as the entire issue, to go viral.
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In an interview to Channel 10, Dolev, the former IDF censor asked "Was somebody shocked? I don't think people were shocked."
Pictures make headlines world-wide
"Youths serve when they are 18 and that is what 18-year-olds world-wide do. And I want to tell you a secret – I also have these kinds of photos, but they are locked inside an album in my storeroom. But now, everything is published to Facebook and everything is out in the open.
"Of course, officially, the IDF has to stress that (these pictures) contradict its ethical code. However, on the other hand, it gives soldiers a human face," he said.
"The IDF has values, it is moral and does its duty, but the soldiers manning its posts, in the camps, bases and tents are coming from a different place. They have yet to go through the IDF's melting-pot – they are not yet soldiers, but only recruits."
The revealing photos garnered much international media attention during the last few days, winning the dubious title of 'Gaza Strip.'
Dolev also criticized the way women are portrayed in the media and public discourse, saying "the media only deal with women as rape victims or sexy objects to be photographed, but when there is a debate about war and security no women are invited. They are not part of the overall Israeli discourse and now there is a chance that these types of photos will promote more female exclusion from the army."
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