IDF Givati Commander agrees to plea bargain on inappropriate sexual conduct

Charges reflect a negotiation which would allow the IDF and Hajbi to avoid a drawn out and embarrassing trial.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
IDF SOLDIERS OF THE Desert Blaze Batallion (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
IDF SOLDIERS OF THE Desert Blaze Batallion
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
IDF Givati Commander Lt.-Col. Liran Hajbi agreed on Sunday to a plea bargain including an indictment filed the same day accusing him of inappropriate sexual misconduct with a much lower ranking female soldier, including kissing her against her will.
It was noteworthy that the indictment was framed around inappropriate conduct of a sexual character instead of harsher charges like indecent sexual misconduct, sexual harassment or sexual assault.
The charges reflected a negotiation that would allow the IDF and Hajbi to avoid a drawn out and embarrassing trial, in which his initial claims of consent would have been put to the test.
In December 2014, Hajbi’s commander, IDF Givati Brigade Commander Col.
Ofer Winter was questioned in a probe over whether he helped cover up sexual-harassment allegations in his unit against Hajbi.
Then IDF chief of staff Lt.- Gen. Benny Gantz promised to spare no effort in rooting out any alleged wrongdoing, but Winter was eventually let off with a rebuke and a slap on the wrist.
Hajbi, in contrast, is being forced out of the IDF immediately, though it appears he will not face jail time.
He was accused of indecent acts against two female soldiers, with his family and lawyer defending his conduct on-and-off the battlefield, and a rape victims association condemning his alleged problematic off-the-battlefield relations with some female soldiers.