Senior officer suspended over alleged affair with subordinate

An Israel Air Force colonel was suspended Tuesday amid suspicions he had a relationship with a noncommissioned officer under his command.

IAF commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel ordered that the officer, who was not named by the military, be relieved of his duties for two weeks while an investigation into the matter is carried out.

The officer and the NCO, who was also not identified, have yet to give their full version to investigators, though they are expected to do so within the next two weeks, an army spokesperson said.

The relationship was apparently consensual, but it would still be prohibited under air force regulations that ban commanding officers from carrying on romantic liaisons with their subordinates.

“A military police investigation has been opened to clarify the circumstances of the case. The officer appears to have acted in a manner that does not align with the norms and values expected of senior commanders and officers in the IDF,” the army said in response to the story, which was first broken by Israel Radio.

Recently, the IAF launched a campaign against sexual harassment and is circulating an ethical code to be signed by all serving soldiers.

A recent conference attended by air force officers of lieutenant colonel rank and higher included presentations and role-playing to reinforce the rules. The officers were instructed to transmit the information to all personnel under their command.

In February, the head of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, suspended a male battalion commander and female subordinate officer for unbecoming conduct and abuse of power, in light of a military police investigation.

The new drive against sexual misconduct has coincided with a widely reported scandal involving Ofek Buchris, a brigadier general accused of rape and other sexual crimes against two subordinates.

Buchris officially resigned from the IDF this week in order to manage his legal defense as a civilian and not as an IDF officer. He was indicted nearly two weeks ago with rape, sodomy, indecent acts and conduct unbecoming of an officer.