A group of soldiers' parents have sent a letter to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, asking for the firing of commanders who lied to soldiers about their role in the mission to destroy the homes of the Federman and Tor families last week.
As reported here last week, senior security commanders lied to several dozen yeshiva-student soldiers and thus guaranteed that they would participate - albeit indirectly - in the violent destruction of two Jewish homes.
In the knowledge that many of the soldiers would refuse to take part in such a mission, the orders they received stated that they would be participating in a mission to help catch a terrorist. The soldiers thus helped secure the area in question, telling Jews who arrived that they could not enter because a terrorist had been sighted. Many of the Jews believed them and went home; others did not, and the soldiers scuffled with them.
What actually happened, however, was that two Jewish homes in Kiryat Arba were bulldozed in the middle of the night; the families - including several young children - were given five and zero minutes, respectively, to get dressed and pack some belongings.
The letter to Ashkenazi states:"We, parents of soldiers and officers in the standing army, were shocked to hear how IDF officers deceived soldiers in the Givati Brigade in Hevron, sending them on a mission against Jews using the excuse of a 'terrorist infiltration' that never happened.The signatories note that their sons serve in various IDF units, including Paratroopers, Givati, Golani, Kfir, Shildag, Egoz, Sayeret Golani and Artillery."We see this incident as an unprecedented collapse of values, one that strikes a blow at the basic, day-to-day trust between soldiers and commanders. It goes without saying how this knowingly harms the IDF's fighting ability.
"Our sons are taught, in their army units, the importance of trust, and are justifiably punished for every deviation from this vital value. It is inconceivable that senior commanders will provide such a destructive personal example, and that there be no response.
"We therefore call upon you to reveal the names of those who were involved in this scandal, and to throw him or them out of the army immediately. If not, the stain of this lie will adhere to the entire Israel Defense Forces.
"Until you do so, we will call upon our sons and daughters not to take an example from the top command of the IDF, in order that they be able to continue to serve amidst a sense of responsibility to the nation, land and state that stems from our education - and not from the example they receive from you."
A member of Hevron's emergency alert team, which generally works closely with the army, responded to the deception by saying, "This creates mistrust between echelons in the military framework, and is liable to cost human life. In the next security incident, the residents won't believe the security forces, and the soldiers won't believe their commanders."