2 soldiers dismissed, jailed for smashing Jesus statue in south Lebanon; new statue erected

The Israeli soldier who smashed a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon and the soldier who photographed him have been dismissed from combat duty and sentenced to 30 days in jail, the military announces.

The IDF says the statue was replaced by troops a short while ago, “in full coordination with the local community.”

“The Northern Command worked to coordinate the replacement of the statue from the moment it received the report of the incident,” the military says, adding that it “expresses deep regret over the incident, and is working to ensure that it does not happen again in the future.”

An investigation by the military into the incident in the Christian village of Debel found that in addition to the soldier who damaged the statue and the soldier who photographed him, six other troops were “present at the scene and did not act to stop the incident or report it.”

“The inquiry determined that the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from IDF orders and values,” the military says.

The findings of the investigation were presented last night to the commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Sagiv Dahan, who is responsible for the sector where the incident took place. The IDF says Dahan accepted the findings and the  commanders’ recommendations.

Accordingly, he decided to dismiss from combat duty the soldier who damaged the statute and the soldier who photographed the act, and sent them to military prison for 30 days.

“The remaining troops who stood by have been summoned for clarification discussions that will be held later on, after which further command-level measures will be determined,” the military says.

The IDF says that “procedures regarding conduct with religious institutions and symbols were reinforced to the troops prior to their entry into the relevant areas, and will be reinforced again for all troops in the area following the incident.”

The investigation was also presented to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo. Zamir “condemned the incident and stated that it constitutes unacceptable conduct and a moral failure, far exceeding any acceptable standard and contradicting IDF values and the expected conduct of its troops,” the military says.