Seven veteran reserve judges of the military courts in Judea and Samaria were promoted last week to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, in a ceremony presided over by the President of the Military Court of Appeals, Maj. Gen. Orly Markman.
Among those promoted was Lt. Col. (res.) Uriel Dreyfus, a descendant of Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish French army officer who was falsely convicted of treason in one of the most notorious cases of antisemitism in European history.
The Dreyfus Affair, which began in 1894, centered on Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery officer in the French army who was accused of passing military secrets to Germany. Despite a lack of credible evidence, he was convicted in a highly publicized trial marked by widespread antisemitism. In a humiliating public ceremony in Paris, his military rank was stripped and his sword broken. He was subsequently exiled to Devil’s Island, a remote penal colony off the coast of French Guiana. Over time, evidence emerged that Dreyfus had been wrongfully accused, and after years of public debate and legal battles, he was ultimately exonerated and reinstated in the army.
Addressing the ceremony, Lt. Col. (res.) Uriel Dreyfus said, "I stand here today with the weight of two histories meeting in a single moment. One is my family history-the name ‘Dreyfus,’ which for generations symbolized injustice, antisemitism, and the attempt to break the spirit of a Jewish officer. The second is the history we have written and continue to write since October 7."
He continued, "More than 130 years ago, in a square in Paris, the ranks were torn from the uniform of Captain Alfred Dreyfus. In a humiliating ceremony before crowds, his sword was broken. He was accused of treason he did not commit, solely because he was Jewish. He was sent to Devil’s Island, a place where hope was meant to die. But he did not break. He continued to cry out his innocence."
"When I entered the IDF induction center as a young soldier, I carried this memory with me," he said. "I understood that every rank I would receive, every step I would take in the army, would represent a form of historical correction. Today, as I receive the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, I feel that the ranks torn away in disgrace are now being sewn back with pride onto the olive uniforms of the Israel Defense Forces, within a system entrusted with administering justice in the sovereign Jewish state."
Dreyfus drew a comparison between past and present challenges, stating: "Alfred Dreyfus stood alone against a well-oiled system of lies. Today, the State of Israel stands on multiple fronts, facing threats of missiles, terrorism, and falsehoods in the international arena. The ranks we, the judges, receive today are the answer and the proof that we no longer stand alone. We are not defenseless."
Reflecting on recent years, he added, "The past years have been among the most difficult of our lives. We have lost friends, subordinates, and commanders. Within this pain, we must remember the determination of those who came before us. We will endure and prevail because we have no other country and no other army."
He emphasized the role of the military courts, saying: "Our role in the court system is often invisible to the public eye, yet it forms the backbone of Israeli democracy. My colleagues and I protect a place where words are stronger than bullets, and where truth is the highest authority. This is our professional duty and our moral mission."