The lawyer, Adi Keidar of the voluntary Land of Israel Legal Forum, wrote that the procedure by which Dayan was demoted and stripped of his "combat soldier" status is both against regulations and inappropriate. Keidar wrote that the decision to demote Dayan apparently stems from the unit commander's mistaken judgment, and that it must therefore be immediately nullified.
The soldier, a resident of Psagot north of Jerusalem, is currently in limbo, not knowing to which unit he must report.
The incident occurred on Independence Day at the President's House. Sgt. Dayan lined up with other outstanding soldiers to receive the award and shake the hands of President Katzav, Chief of Staff Halutz [pictured], and others, but when he neared Halutz, he saluted and explained that he could not shake his hand.
"When I see you, I see the bulldozers destroying my grandparents' home in Gush Katif, and I cannot shake your hand," the soldier respectfully told the man who commanded the army's eviction of 9,000 Jews from Katif and Northern Shomron last summer. The young soldier also told Halutz that his grandfather had died around the time of the disengagement/expulsion.
Katzav and Halutz were both taken aback at the soldier's words, but the situation became explosive only when IDF Manpower Resources Chief Elazar Stern arrived on the scene. Stern, a yarmulke-sporting man of the religious-Zionist camp, berated Dayan and demanded that he apologize.
Yosef Dayan, Chananel's stepfather who raised him from the age of 2, said that this particularly angered him:
"Stern had the gall to tell Army Radio today that if the media hadn't made such a big issue, the army would have been able to tolerate what happened and let it go. But it was he himself who made the big hullabaloo! If he hadn't started yelling at Chananel, no one would have ever known anything about it!"
The elder Dayan is incensed at Stern for other things as well:
"After the incident, they told him that he had to be in Tel Aviv at 6 AM the next morning. He met there with Stern, who looks at him and says, 'So you're happy now, eh? Everyone is so proud of you, and now you're their hero, eh?' etc., etc. How was my son supposed to react? He's standing there, a young sergeant facing a top general - an impossible situation. So he remained silent. Then Stern asks him, 'What did your grandfather die of?' Chananel said, 'Cancer.' So Stern says, 'Oh, so you're making cynical political use of cancer, eh?' Chananel said, 'My grandfather had cancer for seven years, but he continued to have a zest for life - until the expulsion, when he lost the will to live. He died of heartache.' Later, Stern said the worst thing of all: 'It's all because of your sick rabbis and the sick education they gave you.'"
The young soldier received a letter at the end of last week from his Brigade Commander, saying that he was demoted from the status of fighter and removed from Brigade 188. The letter explained that the demotion was a result of his "choosing to express a personal protest on a political background, harming military discipline and the value of mission. By expressing your personal opinion, you acted against the values of the Brigade, namely, fighters' camaraderie, mutual trust, and partnership."
The soldier spent the Sabbath at his home in Psagot, but since then has not been told where to report. "He is stuck in Kastina [a base north of Ashkelon], not knowing where to go next," his father said. "But over Sabbath, I felt like I didn't touch the ground even once, because I was so proud of my son. The phone was busy the whole time, with people calling from all over - important rabbis and simple people from all over the country - to show their support for him. One man, a Holocaust survivor in his 90s, called and said, 'You know why we were killed? Because we didn't have people like Chananel who knew how to stand up and save our honor.'"
Yosef Dayan also said that reports that the Presidential Prize for Excellence, which involves a $1,500 scholarship, was revoked - are untrue. "The secretary at the President's House said that as far as she knew, such a thing was not even under consideration," he said.
The soldier, a resident of Psagot north of Jerusalem, is currently in limbo, not knowing to which unit he must report.
The incident occurred on Independence Day at the President's House. Sgt. Dayan lined up with other outstanding soldiers to receive the award and shake the hands of President Katzav, Chief of Staff Halutz [pictured], and others, but when he neared Halutz, he saluted and explained that he could not shake his hand.
"When I see you, I see the bulldozers destroying my grandparents' home in Gush Katif, and I cannot shake your hand," the soldier respectfully told the man who commanded the army's eviction of 9,000 Jews from Katif and Northern Shomron last summer. The young soldier also told Halutz that his grandfather had died around the time of the disengagement/expulsion.
Katzav and Halutz were both taken aback at the soldier's words, but the situation became explosive only when IDF Manpower Resources Chief Elazar Stern arrived on the scene. Stern, a yarmulke-sporting man of the religious-Zionist camp, berated Dayan and demanded that he apologize.
Yosef Dayan, Chananel's stepfather who raised him from the age of 2, said that this particularly angered him:
"Stern had the gall to tell Army Radio today that if the media hadn't made such a big issue, the army would have been able to tolerate what happened and let it go. But it was he himself who made the big hullabaloo! If he hadn't started yelling at Chananel, no one would have ever known anything about it!"
The elder Dayan is incensed at Stern for other things as well:
"After the incident, they told him that he had to be in Tel Aviv at 6 AM the next morning. He met there with Stern, who looks at him and says, 'So you're happy now, eh? Everyone is so proud of you, and now you're their hero, eh?' etc., etc. How was my son supposed to react? He's standing there, a young sergeant facing a top general - an impossible situation. So he remained silent. Then Stern asks him, 'What did your grandfather die of?' Chananel said, 'Cancer.' So Stern says, 'Oh, so you're making cynical political use of cancer, eh?' Chananel said, 'My grandfather had cancer for seven years, but he continued to have a zest for life - until the expulsion, when he lost the will to live. He died of heartache.' Later, Stern said the worst thing of all: 'It's all because of your sick rabbis and the sick education they gave you.'"
The young soldier received a letter at the end of last week from his Brigade Commander, saying that he was demoted from the status of fighter and removed from Brigade 188. The letter explained that the demotion was a result of his "choosing to express a personal protest on a political background, harming military discipline and the value of mission. By expressing your personal opinion, you acted against the values of the Brigade, namely, fighters' camaraderie, mutual trust, and partnership."
The soldier spent the Sabbath at his home in Psagot, but since then has not been told where to report. "He is stuck in Kastina [a base north of Ashkelon], not knowing where to go next," his father said. "But over Sabbath, I felt like I didn't touch the ground even once, because I was so proud of my son. The phone was busy the whole time, with people calling from all over - important rabbis and simple people from all over the country - to show their support for him. One man, a Holocaust survivor in his 90s, called and said, 'You know why we were killed? Because we didn't have people like Chananel who knew how to stand up and save our honor.'"
Yosef Dayan also said that reports that the Presidential Prize for Excellence, which involves a $1,500 scholarship, was revoked - are untrue. "The secretary at the President's House said that as far as she knew, such a thing was not even under consideration," he said.