Senior IDF officials respond to the Givati controversy: "Refusal is forbidden, but there is a crisis of trust"
Officers in the Military Rabbinate address the letter from the Hesder Yeshivas Union following the refusal of Givati Brigade soldiers to follow orders. In closed conversations, they clarify that the soldiers' actions are unacceptable, but sharply criticize commanders who lied to religious soldiers and caused them to desecrate the Sabbath. "This did not happen in a vacuum," they explained.
Senior officials in the Military Rabbinate addressed today, Tuesday, in closed conversations the letter from the Hesder Yeshivas Union, which was published following the refusal of Givati Brigade soldiers to stay in an armored vehicle with a female paramedic. They stated that the multitude of incidents in which the IDF violates its own unit orders is "unacceptable," but clarified: the soldiers in Givati should not have refused the order.
"The decision to refuse an order is forbidden, and it is an extreme step that should not have been taken," say senior military officials.
However, they are aware that the matter "did not happen in a vacuum" and claim that the crisis of trust created with the serving religious-Zionist public is expanding to significant dimensions.
"This incident was, of course, preceded by the story in the same brigade, where one of the company commanders took soldiers out for training during the Sabbath after stating to them that he had approved it with the relevant military rabbi. In practice, he did not speak with any rabbi, and caused the religious soldiers to desecrate the Sabbath without a need that was approved according to Halacha."
"What was done here is an injustice that should not have been done," added the senior officials, noting that as of now, it is not yet known what the punishment for that company commander will be. According to them, he was summoned for a conversation with the relevant battalion commander, while at the same time the commander of the 162nd Division is also dealing with the issue himself together with the senior command in the IDF.
As recalled, on Monday the Council of the Hesder Yeshivas Union published a letter of support, in which it claimed that the incident with the female paramedic in the Namer armored vehicle in the Givati Brigade is not an "isolated incident disconnected from the general challenging reality."
According to the Council, "the incident was preceded by a crisis of trust with the direct command, which stemmed from a lack of adherence to Halacha and orders while presenting a false representation to the soldiers. The ongoing reality in which soldiers who are sons of Torah are forced to deal with the mixing of male and female soldiers during their operational duties brought us to the sad incident in the Givati Brigade."
However, in the letter of support, the Council noted that the violation of the order is a serious act, which stemmed from an "impossible conflict between their faith and their loyalty to the army" of the soldiers; "on the other hand, the soldier must trust his commanders, perform his duties in the best possible way, and obey in an operational situation in the field the order of his commanders, which has passed the approval of the operational authorities and the Military Rabbinate."
