The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel has asked the IDF Chief of Staff and the military’s Chief Rabbi to investigate why the community of Shvut Ami was torn down in the course of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and during Shabbat, in contravention of an IDF order forbidding the desecration of Sabbaths and holidays for non-operational reasons.
In a letter to the two top officers, Adv. Roey Azrad wrote that the Forum obtained information according to which the residents of Shvut Ami were evicted twice: once, in the course of the Shavuot holiday, at around noon on Friday, and a second time about 15 minutes after the Sabbath ended. Preparations for the second eviction, including the transporting of troops into the area, were done during the Sabbath and in a public way, in front of the residents.
Eyewitness testimony
Azrad added that the information was based on the testimony of residents as well as other sources that were present during the eviction.
The desecration of the Sabbath, the lawyer wrote, was carried out in contravention of IDF order 03.0903.
The Forum representative’s letter demanded that the IDF take disciplinary action against the commanders who carried out the eviction and any other person who was involved in the Sabbath desecration. Azrad added that the eviction is part of a pattern of similar actions by the IDF, especially when it comes to evicting Jews from communities in Judea and Samaria. Noting as examples the eviction at Homesh in January 2008 and the eviction at Anata in October 2008, Azrad wanted to know what the IDF intended to do about the phenomenon.
The Legal Forum claimed Sunday that actions such as these could wind up damaging religious soldiers’ trust in their commanders. If the breaking of the Sabbath continues, “A soldier who believes his commander when he says that the Sabbath desecration is for an operational purpose,” the letter said, “will start thinking twice about the possibility that he is being used for other purposes.”