Court upholds IDF’s dismissal of Fares

Fares was discharged in April for lying about an accident involving his army-issued vehicle, which was being driven by his wife at the time.

By RON FRIEDMAN
311_gavel (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
311_gavel
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Brig.-Gen. Imad Fares’s legal battle to remain in the military came to an end Monday after the Tel Aviv District Court rejected his petition to cancel then-chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi’s decision to dismiss him.
Fares was discharged in April for lying about an accident involving his army-issued vehicle, which was being driven by his wife at the time. He petitioned the court last November to force a reversal, citing procedural issues and calling his dismissal a disproportionate punishment for a relatively minor offense. He also asked that the entire case be re-examined by Ashkenazi’s successor, Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz.
RELATED:
Fares had agreed to resign from the army following a meeting with Ashkenazi, but later changed his mind and filed an injunction, keeping himself in the ranks.
The respondents in the case – Ashkenazi, Gantz and five additional officers – argued that the decision to discharge Fares had been appropriate in light of his transgressions regarding the IDF’s values of truthfulness, reliability and setting a personal example. They also argued that Fares had been granted the right of a hearing in his meetings with Ashkenazi, and maintained that his discharge had been legal and followed army regulations.
In his ruling, Judge Kobi Vardi stated that he found the decision to dismiss Fares to have been reasonable and appropriate, and that there was no reason to cancel it.
“The decision gave expression to ethical principles while upholding the challenge facing the IDF command of placing soldiers on high moral ground,” wrote the judge.
Vardi said that Fares had turned the army’s value of truthfulness on its head and behaved in a way that was unbecoming to someone of his rank. He went on to criticize Fares’s behavior both in the events leading up to the trial and during the trial itself, in which, according to Vardi, Fares tried to “shoot in all directions” and “veer away the fire” regarding the main points of contention.
The judge concluded by stating that despite Fares’s years of service, his abilities as an officer and warrior, and his contribution to the IDF, there was no fault in the decision to discharge him in light of his deeds.