Soldiers' protest on Monday
Photo: Asaf Fried
Settlement 'proud of soldiers who protested expulsion'
Document distributed in Kochav Yaakov, home of one of the Nachshon Battalion soldiers who carried sign against evacuation of Negohot settlement and was sentenced to 20 days in prison consequently, says, 'We object to corrupt political use of the IDF for the purpose of expelling Jews from their homes'
"We are proud of Zuriel for giving his soul and going to prison for 20 days following his protest of the expulsion of Jews at the hands of his comrades," read a document distributed Tuesday evening in the Kochav Yaakov settlement in Binyamin, where one of the Nachshon Battalion soldiers who waved a sign at an IDF base against settlement evacuation lives.
The story began at the start of this week, when the Civil Administration and police demolished two illegal structures near the settlement of Negohot in South Mount Hebron. Shortly after the eviction, six Nachshon Battalion soldiers went to the roof of a military base near the settlement and carried a sign saying "Nachshon doesn't evict Jews, either."
All six were penalized following the incident: The two soldiers that carried the sign were sentenced to 30 days in military prison, two others were sentenced to 24 and 20 days in military prison and the remaining two were sentenced to detention in their base for 20 days.
Tuesday afternoon a manifest was distributed around the Kochav Yaakov settlement, in hopes of it reaching the soldiers who have been punished for their actions, and encouraging them. So far, dozens of people have signed the document.
The statement reads, "The IDF was established to defend the people of Israel and the land of Israel, and we therefore firmly object to corrupt political use of the IDF for the purpose of expelling Jews from their homes. We support the faithful soldiers, who carried the sign 'Nachshon doesn't evict Jews, either' after the expulsion in the town of Negohot this week."
The authors then express hope that the act will lead the military establishment to stop giving "illegal orders" of this nature saying, "We are proud of Zuriel, for giving his soul and going to prison for 20 days following his protest of the expulsion of Jews at the hands of his comrades."
Hesder yeshiva: Don't generalize
Meanwhile, National Union MK Michael Ben-Ari commented on talks of the possibility of shutting down the hesder yeshiva (combining advanced religious studies with military service) following this week's incident and a similar incident last month by soldiers from the Shimshon Battalion.
"Threats of shutting down the hesder yeshiva and the Kfir Brigade show that the Israeli Left has lost all sense of responsibility," Ben-Ari said, "I would like to remind them that Olmert's sons will not replace the loyalty and the dedication of the hesder's heroes who always stand on the line of fire."
The MK says he also knows where these threats are coming from: "The proposed punishment indicates panic in the Left, and the problem is simply that they don't mind dismantling the IDF and harming the State's security."
The Hesder Yeshivas Union also published a statement in which it denounced the soldiers' actions: "The union opposes political demonstrations within the IDF, and considers this a significant violation of the military's foundations and of the social coherency within the army."
However, the union stressed that "such isolated incidents do not stain an entire public of thousands of dedicated men who join the army's combat units with high motivation in order to play an important role in fighting the enemy and protecting the people and the land."
The union called for "deep dialogue in the Israeli society on the use of the army in missions of a law enforcement nature."