The military trials of the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion soldiers who left the Sde Teiman base on Thursday while chanting “all officers can s**k it” have concluded. Four more soldiers have been sent to military prison and removed from combat duty, with one of them tried while on pre-discharge leave.
Givati Brigade commander Col. Netanel Shamaka had already tried 14 of the soldiers who led the unusual incident the day after it occurred, sentencing them to 30 days in military prison and removing them from combat service. About 80 additional soldiers who left the base and returned were given significantly lighter treatment, and on Saturday underwent a “command and educational process to strengthen discipline, values and the norms expected of IDF soldiers,” together with their commanders.
Dozens of Givati fighters abandon the Sde Teiman base
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The unusual incident began Thursday afternoon, when veteran soldiers left the base in protest against their commanders, who had removed the signs and symbols they had hung. Officers from the brigade began driving around the area in an effort to locate the soldiers and bring them back. Videos published from the scene gained wide attention on X, and were also shared by Arabic-language accounts that celebrated the revolt within the IDF.
The battalion commander, who was said to have broken and shattered the signs, issued a message to the soldiers’ parents: “Those of you who are familiar from your military service with seniority games between new and veteran soldiers know how serious this incident is. Therefore, I decided to break wooden signs of Satan, the Angel of Death and others, signs that represent exactly these things. I decided to remove the rest of the signs from the companies, except for a small number of signs, out of an understanding of their sentimental value.
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“It is important to note that there is no connection between the signs and the battalion’s fallen soldiers or memorial corners, contrary to what has been claimed in some media outlets,” he clarified. “Many of the soldiers who decided to leave their weapons behind, walk out of the base and become absent without leave did so because of negative social pressure and not out of sound judgment. Therefore, in order to help many of them climb down from the tree, I decided to allow them to return to the base by 4 p.m. , we will know how to handle. Those who decide not to return will have to answer for their actions.”
The soldiers who left the base claimed that the signs they had made were smashed by commanders with a hammer. The soldiers also said these were symbols that had accompanied them in combat in Gaza and Lebanon, and that they were part of a battalion tradition passed down from one class to the next. For them, they said, the signs symbolize belonging to the battalion and its tradition, which is why they were hurt. The battalion commander handled the signs himself, further inflaming the soldiers.
In an official statement, the soldiers claimed: “When these symbols are broken, it is not just a piece of wood or a sign that is broken — something in the spirit of the soldiers is broken. After everything we have been through, the small thing that gives us strength, pride and a smile was destroyed. Unfortunately, this is only a small part of the treatment and conduct we experience from some of the officers toward the soldiers. We cannot continue to remain silent.”
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