Eyal Eshel, the father of surveillance soldier Roni Eshel, who was murdered at the Nahal Oz outpost on October 7, 2023, published a scathing and painful post against Brig. Gen. Yossi Sariel, commander of Unit 8200 at the time of the Hamas attack, following his appointment several months ago to the management team of the startup company Decart.
Eshel, who lost his daughter in the Nahal Oz attack and has since worked to establish responsibility for the failures of October 7, did not mince words in his criticism of Sariel.
“In a properly functioning world, he would now be rotting in prison after being demoted to private," he wrote. “His investigation was one of the most disgraceful investigations conducted by the Military Intelligence Directorate. A badge of shame."
Eshel directed much of his pain at what he sees as the inconceivable disparity between the magnitude of the failure and the subsequent career of the man who commanded one of the IDF’s principal intelligence units on that Saturday.
“In Israel, everything is backwards," he wrote. “A few months ago, he joined the management team of the startup Decart. Legally, it is an American company and they can do whatever they want. Everything is cold, everything is money. On the public level, I still ask: Where is the public conscience? Where is the boycott?"
Eshel added painfully: “Now, in addition to his state-funded pension, he will enjoy the fruits of a multibillion-dollar exit. No shame."
He also addressed the possibility of future legal proceedings.
“As for prosecution and prosecutorial policy, I hope there will be grounds for a serious legal discussion, with the finest lawyers standing alongside the families," he wrote, concluding with a harsh statement: “Reinventing the dance and dancing on the blood of the bereaved. Only in Israel."
Several hours later, however, Eshel returned to the post and added further comments.
“If the people of Israel living in Zion knew how many messages and phone calls I have received since publishing the post this morning, how much information I received, and how many people, today, almost three years later, still have a knot in their stomach," he wrote.
Eshel added a sentence that, from his perspective, encapsulates a struggle that has yet to end: “How many people today understand that we need to fight the words ‘lies’ and ‘under-the-table deals.’"
He concluded his addition to the post with a direct message to employees of the company that Sariel joined: “You there at Decart, you employees-and I will say no more..."