Defense Minister Demands Prison for Dismissed Military Advocate General
Israel's Defense Minister is demanding prison time for the dismissed Military Advocate General, calling the Sde Teiman video leak a "blood libel" against IDF soldiers and urging the Attorney General to fast-track her prosecution.
Defense Minister Israel Katz escalated his response to the Sde Teiman scandal Tuesday, welcoming the IDF chief's dismissal of former Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerusalmi and demanding she be stripped of her rank and imprisoned for what he called a serious act of betrayal against Israel's combat soldiers.
"I commend IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on the decision to dismiss Yifat Tomer-Yerusalmi from the IDF and to strip her of the Chief of Staff commendation and additional privileges," Katz said in an official statement.
Katz said he had already contacted the Attorney General on Monday demanding that legal proceedings against Tomer-Yerusalmi be accelerated urgently, with the goal of achieving "the stripping of her ranks and her imprisonment for many years due to the serious acts she committed."
The defense minister was unsparing in his characterization of the affair. He described the Sde Teiman case as "a serious blood libel against Force 100 and the heroic IDF fighters who operate day and night to defend the State of Israel against a cruel enemy," and said that Tomer-Yerusalmi had "chosen to take part in a move that harmed our fighters and their good name, betraying the trust placed in her in the most sensitive role in the military system."
Katz noted that he had moved to have her removed from her post immediately upon the exposure of the video leak from the Sde Teiman detention facility, citing the gravity of her actions and the serious damage to the trust placed in her by IDF commanders and soldiers.
"We cannot move on from serious acts that harmed IDF fighters, the security establishment, and public trust as a whole," Katz added. "The State of Israel and its heroic soldiers deserve commanders and a military justice system that operate with integrity, responsibility, and full loyalty to the fighters and the state."
The dismissal means Tomer-Yerusalmi will forfeit her service completion bonus. A decision on rank reduction is expected to follow once the criminal proceedings reach their conclusion.