IDF chief suspends entire ultra-Orthodox battalion, sparking backlash

After several soldiers involved in confrontation with CNN crew, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir suspends entire ultra-Orthodox reserve battalion, drawing protests from lawmakers.

By World Israel News Staff

The IDF chief of staff over the weekend ordered that an entire battalion of ultra-Orthodox reservists be suspended from active duty after several soldiers were accused of involvement in a physical altercation with a CNN crew recently.

The suspension stems from an incident which occurred near the Palestinian Authority-administered town of Tayasir in Samaria on Thursday, while a CNN crew was filming a segment on recent clashes between Israelis and Arabs in the area, after Israeli activists established an outpost in response to the recent murder of Yehuda Sherman by a Palestinian terrorist.

CNN claimed that a squad of soldiers from the 941st Battalion, made up of reservists who had served in the ultra-Orthodox Nahal Haredi Battalion, also known as Netzah Yehuda, confronted the CNN filming crew, which was led by correspondent Jeremy Diamond.

The soldiers allegedly detained the crew for two hours and tried to prevent the team from filming, while expressing support for settler activists seeking “revenge” for Sherman’s murder.

At one point, CNN alleges, one soldier put photojournalist Cyril Theophilos in a chokehold, threw him on the ground, and damaged his camera.

The IDF has not confirmed CNN‘s claims, which will be assessed by army investigators.

On Monday, however, the IDF did acknowledge that there were “several failures” in the soldiers’ conduct, calling the confrontation a “grave ethical incident.”

According to the army, the soldiers performed a security check on the film crew and on several Arabs being interviewed.

During the security screening, the IDF said, one soldier made “inappropriate remarks” to the film crew, without specifying if the comments were the calls for revenge that CNN claimed were made.

The army did not confirm CNN‘s claims of a physical altercation or damage to a photojournalist’s camera.

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir responded to the incident by ordering that the entire 941st Battalion, including hundreds of soldiers, be suspended from active duty until an inquiry into the incident has been completed.

An IDF spokesperson added that the entire battalion will undergo “professional and ethical” training.

The decision sparked outrage from lawmakers, government ministers, and from reservists serving in the battalion.

“This is a spit in the face of the most dedicated [people],” said Tamar Sokolovsky, whose husband serves in the 941st Battalion, Arutz Sheva reported.

“They’re throwing out the entire battalion. Just now the chief of staff cried out in the cabinet that the IDF is collapsing because there are no fighters, and then they throw out the most dedicated? The ones who showed up at 100 percent?”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir blasted Zamir over the suspension and called for the decision to be overturned.

“I support the combat soldiers of Reserve Battalion 941, a battalion made up of graduates of Netzah Yehuda,” Ben-Gvir said on Monday. “Removing an entire reserve battalion from duty in light of a report in the foreign media is a serious mistake that harms our fighters and undermines the deterrence capability of the State of Israel.

“I expect the chief of staff to strengthen the fighters, not weaken them, especially at such a sensitive time in Judea and Samaria.”