The IDF acknowledged Wednesday that a training exercise conducted on Shabbos in the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion had no operational justification and was carried out without the knowledge of the brigade’s Rav.
“As part of the Rotem Battalion’s routine activity in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, August 8, 2026, a company-level training exercise was held in the area,” the IDF said.
“After the exercise was held, and in light of claims raised by some of the soldiers in the battalion, it was determined that there was no operational reason to conduct the training exercise on Shabbos and that the exercise had not been brought to the attention of the brigade Rav.”
The IDF also acknowledged that the decision had negatively affected the religious soldiers, stating: “The approval of the training exercise infringed upon the soldiers’ way of life.”
The incident was investigated, and the battalion commanders subsequently confronted the company commander and informed him that his decision had been a mistake. The IDF said procedures for handling such situations in the future were clarified to him, and he was summoned for a review with the Givati Brigade commander.
The admission comes after soldiers told Arutz Sheva that the incident was one of several disputes over religious issues that preceded the controversy involving 16 Hesder soldiers who were sentenced to 10 days in military prison for refusing to enter a Namer armored personnel carrier with a female paramedic.
The soldiers and their colleagues have maintained that the Namer incident did not occur in isolation, but followed a growing crisis of trust between the Hesder platoon and its commanders over adherence to halacha and the IDF’s Joint Service Order.
Approximately a week and a half before the Namer incident, the company commander ordered a training exercise on Shabbos that included casualty evacuation and the insertion of an IV. The soldiers questioned why the exercise had to take place on Shabbos when there was no urgent operational need and asked that it be postponed.
“We asked why an exercise like this needed to be conducted on Shabbos when there was no professional or operational necessity for it,” the soldiers told Arutz Sheva.
After Shabbos, the soldiers approached the brigade Rav and described what had occurred. The Rav said that such a training exercise should not have been conducted on Shabbos in the absence of an operational necessity.
The acknowledgment lends support to claims made earlier this week by the Hesder Yeshiva Association, which said the dispute over the female paramedic came after a broader breakdown in trust between the soldiers and their direct commanders.
The association warned of a “series of violations of the Joint Service Order,” saying religious soldiers had repeatedly found themselves caught between their commitment to halacha and their obligations as IDF soldiers.
It stressed that mutual trust between commanders and soldiers is essential, requiring commanders to understand the religious needs of their troops and accurately present the circumstances they face, while soldiers must trust their commanders and obey orders in operational situations when those orders have been approved by the relevant operational authorities and the Military Rabbinate.
“An in-depth and thorough review found that the current incident was preceded by a crisis of trust with the soldiers’ direct commanders, stemming from a failure to adhere to halacha and military orders while presenting a false picture to the soldiers, which contributed significantly to their decision in this case,” the association said.
The association called on the IDF to examine the incidents that preceded the Namer controversy and reconsider the severity of the punishment imposed on the soldiers.
“In light of the complexity of the circumstances, we believe that the severe punishment imposed on the soldiers does not appropriately reflect the broader picture that has emerged from the investigation of the incident,” it said.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
