Soldier must obey orders related to army duty:shaking hands is neither compulsory nor on the army behaviour textbook.Decision against this soldier should be illegal and could be challenged to court.Unless our country has turned soviet union.

was taken, the commanders and decision makers had no choice. This had nothing whatsoever to do with the willingness of the soldier to make physical contact with the Chief of Staff. In a democracy there is no place for a soldier, private up to general, to express political opinions.His only duty is to serve his country and obey orders, as long as they are legal. This soldier was expressing his political opinion and when he grows up and matures he will enhance his knowledge of the world and understand and he will in future times regret and repent. No, I am not leftist, or Meretz, but rather a very extreme rightist who advocates no compromise with the Palestinians or with any issue that might compromise Israel in any way, and I fully sympathize with the soldier and his feelings, but his action was wrong and as I said, the correct and only proper response was enacted.

Good for you. The IDF can't take away the fact that you were chosen because you are excellent. Dan Halutz isn't a soldier and will never understand what a democracy means.

Not only is Dayan a top soldier, but more importantly, he's a top soldier who is a thinking soldier. Kol hacavod to him.

Soon there will be many more such things occurring when The self-haters attempt ethnic cleansing in Yesha.

The soldier is silly because the Chief of Staff did not decide to evacuate Gaza; implemented civilian policy. The army is silly to give weight to the silly soldier's silly protest by responding to it.

What a disgrace! They can't stop the Qassams but their top brass closes ranks against a young man that they've chosen as an outstanding soldier.

a soldier must obey. you are not asked for your opinion to decisions made by the government. if every soldier would do what he want's it wouldn't be an army anymore. to all the soldiers out there, obey and shut your mouth.

Please read # 3 and suppress your emotions. There is a principal involved in this matter and it can not be disregarded. Try to be mature and understand. My feelings are with the soldier, but he was wrong and has to pay the price.One of Americas greatest heros, Five star General Macarthur while filling the post of Supreme Commander in a Theatre of War, gave advice to the President, The president did not accept his advice and the General proceeded to hold press conferences expounding his views which had political implications. The next day he was on a plane home and relieved of duty. Politicising the military is unacceptable in a democracy, at any level. This soldier's act was political.

A true Israeli hero!! Does not need to be honored by an army that is totally corrupt and one that is being used as the political tool of the Israeli government. He honored himself by standing up for his fellow Jews that were thrown out of their homes , for standing by his family who have obviously raised him with the correct morals and values we wish all IDF soldiers would display. We honor him and will remember is courageous and moral stand.

He may have been chosen as a "chayal miztayen" but by refusing to shake hands this soldier shows that he is just an arrogant and immature little kid. Regardless of his political stance, this action is undignified, uncalled for, and downright rude. Who the hell is this little punk to insult and snub the RAMATKA"L? He may have been on officer's track, but this soldier is most certainly not a gentleman. He should be sent for manners and sensitivity training!

Halutz must have small penis if he was so offended by someone that refused to shake his hand.

1) Soldier is required to salute senor officer, not shake his hand, and Dayan did that. He did not break any law. 2) Only president can take away a citation, not IDF or ministry of defence Dayan is going to sue on elyon, and if Israel is state of law, he will win.

Israel by this action is really going the wrong direction. It promotes Halutz for political expedience and demotes an excellent soldier for Moral Authority. Kol Hakovod to Hananel A lot of people around the world are proud of you.

the soldier is right and if no body wants to do anything I will

Pure nonsense, do you think the Chief of Staff acts without legal advice. Think before you act.

After having read all these postings, I understand that the soldier saluted, which he was required to do to someone who is a higher rank than him. But he wasn't required to shake his hand. I am with the soldier.

The only thing that has stood between the people of Israel and a second Holocaust is the IDF. (If you remember the days before the Six-day War you will already know this). The survival of Israel depends upon the integrity and discipline of the IDF. If this kind of mutiny is allowed, then army discipline - which is crucial to army performance - is undermined and the lives of all Jews in Israeli are at risk. Hananel doesn't understand what he is there for. He should be removed from the army and barred from the reserves - because he can't be relied upon. Let him do his protesting legally as a civilian. He is too immature to do it as a soldier.

Absolutely the right decision. If you show disrespect to your country's chief commanding officer, you do not deserve to be in an elite unit, or in any position of authority.

What exactly are you going to do, offer to shake Halutz's hand instead of the soldier as compensation to a slighted General ? Nobody disputes the fact that he was under no obligation to shake his hand, but the mere fact that he did not constitutes a political staement. This is both unacceptable and unforgivable.

Sergeant Hananel Dayan you're my hero.

This isn't a protest its the military. Orders are how it works.

Yaacov Shani in Afula, you attack anyone who supports the soldier's freedom to express his pain over turning hundreds of Jewish families homeless in the Jewish state. You are invited to think a little too. It is obvious that if the solider saluted but refused to shake Halutz's hand, that this was within his rights as a free citizen serving the democratic State of Israel. Try to sugar coat the IDF's reaction but their move was stupid, and hysterical and Hananel's was serious.

Shalom Yaakov, I don't know exactly the regulations of the IDF regarding respect of officers. But I guess they should be quite similar to what I experienced in the french army : soldiers are compelled to salute an officer but not to hand shaking. As a consequence I don't understand which regulation has been broken by the soldier. If you had been expelled from your house and would be asked to shake the hand of the guy responsable, you would surely have refused. For an outsider like me only relying on paper reading to understand what's happening in Eretz Israel, there seems to be a new trend in israeli society : demonization of the religious-zionist public. This group was the only link between secular and haredi populations. If the secular majority does exclude the mizrahim as it did decades ago with the haredim, the future is not bright... Medinat Israel does need unity of Am Israel.

The law in Israel is as #16 stated. now don't yyou feel silly.

A citizen ceases to be free when he enters the army. Whether you or the soldier like it or not you become a tool in the hands of the state to which you owe allegience. That is it in a nutshell. He is immature, for which he can not be blamed, but that will pass in time and with experience. I do not attack anyone, and if you read what I said, my feelings are with the soldier but he was wrong.

Some months ago the Chief of Staff entered the office of the Minister of Defense in order to receive some orders. I presume that when they meet and part they shake hands as civilized people do. The chief of Staff is a soldier, just as Dayan is, no difference. On that day he received his orders to evacuate settlements, these were given to him as per a decision of the Government. Can you imagine the Chief of Staff not shaking hands that day with the Minister because he did not agree with the orders he received. I am an extremely right winger in all aspects and I served in the army for over 35 years, just like everybody else, and many many times I did not agree with what I was told or asked to do, many times on moral grounds at that, but never once did I refuse to carry out my orders, never once was I insubordinate to higher rank or discourteous to a fellow soldier or officer of equal or higher rank. Democracies and their armies can not function in any other way.