The family of Sgt. Gur Kehati, a soldier killed in a clash in Lebanon in November last year, has dismantled his military headstone, about a week and a half after the Israel Defense Forces decided not to pursue criminal charges against Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom.
Kehati was killed in the same incident in which Ze’ev ‘Jabo’ Hanoch Erlich was also killed. Yarom, who was serving at the time as the chief of staff of the Golani Brigade, had brought Erlich into southern Lebanon.
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At the entrance to the Ministry of Defense building, this evening in Kirya
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Maayan Agmon Kehati, Gur’s mother, wrote, “We released Gur from the IDF to a lieutenant colonel. From a place to which he gave everything he had.” She added, “Everything he built throughout his life with blood, sweat and tears was spent on the army, on the people here and on the state, instead of on the beautiful life he would have built for himself. Gur was a rare person. He would have become well known for that, and many people would have benefited from knowing him.”
She also described a meeting held earlier that day with senior military prosecutors. “Today we were invited to the Military Advocate General’s Office for a meeting with the MAG and the chief military prosecutor. I did not go because I had no emotional capacity for it. Ron, Gur’s father, and his grandfather David went to the questionable meeting. The military prosecutor said, and Ron nearly had a heart attack, ‘Gur was not killed in the fortress.’ Do you understand?”
Gur’s father, Ron Kehati, also addressed the decision to dismantle the headstone. “The IDF sent us a message last week, with the closure of Gur’s investigation file, that the army is effectively clearing itself of responsibility for Gur,” he said. “It is disowning and denying its own soldier, who was killed due to criminal military conduct. The army did not take responsibility for a full and thorough investigation, for holding those responsible to account, for justice or for learning lessons. We understood the message clearly and chose to end the unsuccessful relationship between the IDF and Gur.”
He added, “Today we removed all military symbols from Gur’s grave and returned the burial plot to our family. Soon we will decide what is right for Gur’s grave. He was much more a human being, a son and a brother, and only a little a soldier, but that little part killed him.”
Regarding the military marker and inscription placed at the head of the grave, Kehati said, “We returned it to the Kirya. I placed it this evening at the entrance to the Moshe Arens Building, which houses Defense Ministry units, with a note to the chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. If he does not believe this event deserves more serious treatment than what the Military Advocate General has given it, and does not understand the message the IDF is sending to its soldiers and the public, he is welcome to do whatever he sees fit with it. We have no need for it, and it no longer has any meaning for us.”
Kehati, 20 at the time of his death, was from the moshav of Nir Banim. He served as a fighter in the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion and was killed in November during a battle at an archaeological fortress in southern Lebanon, alongside researcher Ze’ev ‘Jabo’ Hanoch Erlich, 70, one of the founders of the settlement of Ofra.
Sgt. Kehati was killed in a clash with Hezbollah terrorists. Col. Yarom was moderately wounded. Days after the incident, Yarom asked to step down from his position, writing at the time, “In light of the values on which I was raised and which I preached, and in keeping with practicing what I preach, I believe I must take command responsibility for the incident.”
Last week, the IDF announced that Col. (res.) Yarom would not be indicted on criminal charges in connection with the deaths of Kehati and Erlich. According to the IDF statement, Yarom was granted a hearing, after which the Military Advocate General’s Corps decided not to pursue charges. “The tour of the site where the incident occurred was planned in advance and was operationally required,” the IDF said.
In September, the military prosecution had announced its intention to file an indictment against Yarom, subject to a hearing. The Military Police Criminal Investigation Division had also investigated him at the time on suspicion of causing death by negligence.
In his decision, the new military advocate general, Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir, fully accepted Yarom’s version of events, that bringing Erlich into southern Lebanon stemmed solely from operational needs, despite the fact that Erlich had not been formally enlisted as required by IDF regulations and was brought in as a ‘guest’.
In its announcement on the closure of the investigation, the IDF said, “It was decided to close the investigation file without taking criminal action, while recommending the consideration of command measures. The investigation file against another individual involved in the incident, who was questioned under caution, will also be closed without criminal proceedings.”
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