The imprisonment of a Nahal Brigade soldier over wearing a “Mashiach" (Messiah) patch was postponed from this morning until the evening hours by decision of IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir.
The soldier was sentenced to 30 days in prison over the incident. Following the decision, dozens of family members and civilians gathered outside Prison 10 to protest the move.
Parents organizing the protest wrote in a group message, “The fighters protect us - now it’s our turn to protect them." They called on more members of the public to come to the prison facility and express support for the soldier.
Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Nissim Vaturi also arrived at the scene to support the soldier.
He criticized the punishment and told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, “I came to strengthen the heroic fighter who is going to prison over nonsense. We are a people of faith - with faith we win, without faith we do not win. The Chief of Staff needs to understand that. I sent him a letter asking to cancel the soldier’s punishment. We will win, and I will continue to strengthen the soldiers. I will not allow harm to come to IDF soldiers."
He added, “The punishment should be completely abolished. This sends a very bad message. You must not touch this issue - the faith of soldiers and fighters. They need all the strength possible to move forward. Soldiers must go out with confidence to win. Without faith there is no victory."
The protest continued as the soldier’s reporting time to prison was delayed.