Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz ordered reporters to refrain from publishing remarks made concerning female soldiers during a visit to an army drill in Israel’s North on Tuesday.

The comments were made during a Golani Brigade drill, when, seemingly unaware that there were cameras in the vicinity, the two top officials – together with the commander of the Golani Brigade – joked about the issue of women serving in the army.

After Gantz noticed reporters from Army Radio and Channel 2, he turned to them and asked them not to report the conversation. Gantz told the Army Radio reporter to shelf the recording, and threatened the Channel 2 reporter that if the footage airs it would be his last piece.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Yet despite the army chief’s warnings, the video was released. In it, Barak asks: “Who are the girls here? From the battalion or the brigade? Or from the division?” Gantz replied: “They sing during the break. During the break they start to sing.”

Golani commander Ofek Buchris then said that “there is no problem for them to sing, solo, everything will be fine.” Barak said “there’s Dana from the minister’s communication here, she’s from a moshav, she can sing without uniform,” to which Buchris replied: “As long as she’s without uniform and with clothes it’s fine.”

At that point Gantz turned to an Army Radio reporter and said: “Army Radio, this does not come out. Even it’s the scoop of your lifetime. It’s stays in your tape recorder.” He then told a Channel 2 reporter that if he airs the tape “it will be the last piece. It would be a shame if would be the last piece. Like the last war. I promise you it would be the last piece.”

For more, go to Haaretz.com

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount