20 IDF officers quit service, run for local councils

IDF seeks to amend regulations allowing officers running for local councils to be discharged, whether or not they are elected. Colonel concerned some officers taking advantage of regulations to achieve early release

Yoav Zitun|Published: 10.19.13 , 22:05

Head of the IDF elections staff Colonel Avi Baruch said Saturday that the IDF intends to amend military regulations which allow officers running for local councils to be discharged from the military, even if they were not elected to the councils.

IDF officials suggested that officers may have used the regulations to quit service before the end of their tenure.

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Colonel Baruch noted that the IDF intended to amend the regulations so that they resemble those applying to soldiers in mandatory service, meaning that "they take leave during the campaign, and if they're not elected they will resume military service."

He said that several weeks ago, some 20 IDF officers announced they were running for local councils, thereby immediately terminating their contracts. Most of them, according to Baruch, were captains and lieutenants.

"The regulation was set in the 1960s and in some cases we feel they didn't run for elections out of a will to make a difference," Baruch noted.

Elections for local councils are to be held in 700 IDF ballot polls on Sunday, and soldiers will also be exercising their democratic rights on the various bases, including border posts.

Soldiers will also be able to vote in their towns on Tuesday, but double ballots will lead to disciplinary penalties.