Two IDF Soldiers Dismissed For Posting Refusal to Evacuate Settlements on Facebook
The Israel Defense Forces dismissed two soldiers after discovering that they pledged on Facebook to refuse orders to evacuate West Bank settlements.
The incident comes days after the IDF evacuation of portions of three illegal Jewish outposts in the West Bank.
The Facebook post that resulted in the soldiers’ dismisal was a photo of a piece of paper that said, in Hebrew, “A real border policeman doesn’t evacuate Jews!” The post reportedly went viral among soldiers, including those not serving in the West Bank.
The two soldiers in question were not posted in the West Bank at the time of the incident.
The protest comes two weeks after dozens of IDF soldiers posted anonymously on Facebook protesting the suspension of a soldier from the Nahal Brigade identified as David who had threatened a Palestinian youth with a rifle. Those posts featured IDF soldiers holding pieces of paper over their faces reading, “I am also with David from Nahal.”
“Facebook is not a command tool,” said IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, according to Haaretz. “It’s not an alternative or even a parallel channel for dialogue between commanders and their soldiers.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
