Maj. (res.) Tzvi Shpiegel, dean of the Mevaseret Zion Yeshiva High School, was an Israel Air Force pilot during and after the Peace for Galilee War in 1982. "I took part in bombing terrorist nests even in the midst of civilian areas," he told Arutz-7 today, "and in answer to your question, no, I don't have a problem with that. If that's where they hide, then there is no other way to get them. We must not have mercy on them, because then we will be cruel to ourselves... What bothers me the most about what they did is that they used the respected mantle of the army and the IAF to express their private opinions; their opinions might be legitimate and worthy of respect, but I think it is not intellectually honest to express these opinions in a manner that implies that the entire IAF stands behind them. They can express their opinions privately, but not in this manner."
Some of the signatories said that they were irked by the fact that Air Force Commander Gen. Dan Halutz said that he feels nothing when he releases a bomb other than a slight shake in the plane. Asked to explain this seeming callousness, Shpiegel said, "When a pilot goes into the air to carry out a mission, he must do so resolutely, in the best way possible, without doubts and without philosophizing with himself."