14 Givati soldiers dismissed from combat duty, given 30-day sentence for leading desertion

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

The Israel Defense Forces said 14 soldiers of the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion, who led a mass desertion of an army base in southern Israel on Thursday, were sentenced to 30 days in military jail.

The commander of the Givati Brigade, Col. Netanel Shamaka, also permanently dismissed those soldiers from combat duty, the military said.

On Thursday, around 100 infantry soldiers left behind their weapons and abandoned the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel after their battalion commander destroyed decorative signs they had put up, according to the military.

The soldiers claimed the signs were “part of our company’s tradition.” According to the army, the signs contained materials meant to disparage rookie soldiers. Infantry soldiers in the IDF have a history of hazing new recruits and of deserting en masse over alleged mistreatment by commanders.

Footage posted online showed the soldiers marching out of the base while chanting an obscenity against officers. Other footage from the base showed a disorganized mount of guns left behind by the soldiers, and the wreckage of the removed signs, including one with a hellish motif that read “Kingdom of Devils.”

The Givati soldiers’ commander gave them until 4 p.m. to return to Sde Teiman or face punishment. The officer said the names of soldiers who failed to show up would be forwarded to the Military Police for further handling.

By the evening, the military said most of the troops had returned to the base, aside from one platoon, around 30 to 40 soldiers.

On Friday, the IDF said those 80 or so troops who left the base without permission and later returned will be required to stay on base this weekend, during which they will undergo “a command and educational process to strengthen the discipline, values and norms expected of IDF soldiers.”

In addition, two more troops who returned to the base overnight will be sentenced later, and one soldier has yet to return to base, the army adds.

Regarding the battalion commander who took down decorative signs the troops had put up, the military said on Thursday that it backed his conduct.

Meanwhile, the commander of the brigade, Col. Netanel Shamaka, and his commander, 162nd Division commander Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan, arrived at the Sde Teiman base on Thursday to speak with the soldiers regarding the incident.

In a missive to troops, Shamaka said: “During the war, you proved your commitment to the mission. You fought bravely, risked your lives across all combat sectors.”

He added, “Precisely out of this deep appreciation and gratitude, the disciplinary incident that recently took place in the Tzabar Battalion is a grave event that has no place in the IDF in general, nor in the Givati Brigade in particular.”

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