Brig.-Gen. Elazar Stern, the IDF\'s chief education officer, has decided to suspend the appearance of the IDF soldiers\' journal BaMachaneh. An IDF statement noted that the magazine has included recent articles that are \"not appropriate.\" It is assumed that the offensive articles include some that insult IDF officers and Air Force pilots, and one about a high-ranking officer who revealed that he is a homosexual.



The HaTzofeh newspaper was apparently ahead of its time yesterday when it featured a short opinion article on BaMachaneh, writing as follows:

\"BaMachaneh has long since stopped being the official journal of the IDF... and is rather the journal only of its editors... Its last issue features a front-page story with the headline, \'Pride.\' [The subject, a Col. in reserves who revealed his homosexuality] appears on the front page as if he were Bar Kokhba, a national hero, waving the flag of rebellion... The paper\'s involvement with issues that are not in the consensus of most of the mainstream, and its presentation of them in a positive light and self-evident, is very disturbing. It is time to openly tell the editors: \'You are the IDF\'s magazine and you must cover issues concerned with the army, defense, and the like. Taking a stand on controversial issues is not your job.\'\"