National Union MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari spoke out Wednesday during a Knesset session on Operation Cast Lead and said that the pre-military academy, which was responsible for rumors that IDF soldiers purposely targeted civilians, should be closed. He added that from personal experience, he knows that the IDF is moral and refrains from hitting civilians.
The story began two weeks ago when the Rabin pre-military academy, headed by Danny Zamir, published accounts from alumni claiming that IDF soldiers targeted civilians during the operation. The story made headlines in Israeli papers before being publicized around the world. On Monday, the IDF concluded that the claims were based on hearsay and emphasized that the rumors had done great damage to the IDF’s image.