AG to Supreme Court: Expulsion of cadets was justified

Officer's course trainees were dismissed when they walked out of ceremony because female soldiers were singing.

By JEREMY SHARON
soldiers haredi 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
soldiers haredi 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Office submitted its response Tuesday night to the lawsuit filed by Yoel Glickman, one of four religious cadets in the army’s officers’ course who were expelled from the program for refusing to return to an army event involving women singing.
The Attorney General’s submission stated that the expulsion of the cadets was justified and their refusal to listen to their commander who instructed them to go back to the event constituted a violation of a legitimate order.
“This petition deals with a basic principle of the IDF: The principle of accepting the army’s authority and the obligation to comply, which means among other things, recognizing the subjugation of soldiers to the authority of the army and the authority of army commanders,” the Attorney General’s response read.
“Naturally, the IDF cannot accept a situation in which soldiers do not, in a clear and definitive manner, see themselves as subject to the army’s authority.”
The submission stated that the order for the soldiers to return to the event was not an illegal command, which may be refused, and it was therefore incumbent upon the soldiers to comply with their commander’s order.
Despite the stance taken by the Attorney General’s Office, its response nevertheless stated that Glickman would be able to start a new officer’s course when it starts in six weeks.