Here is more on the KFIR Brigade incident
Excerpt:
One of the combatants from the victim’s company revealed there is a bond of silence surrounding hazing cases. “Veteran soldiers don’t have many privileges so they set seniority rules,” he said. “In this case, they definitely went too far.”
The victim’s mother said she never dreamed her son would be beaten by his fellow soldiers. “These guys need to be put away for a long time. I would even say they should be expelled from the army and serve their time in a civilian prison, military prison is a picnic for them,” she said. “My son could have died there. This could have ended much worse and they must be held accountable.”
An initial investigation revealed this was not the first time the suspects were involved in a hazing. Some of the suspects claimed that even commanders took beatings from them and that everything “was done in good spirit and with no one complaining.”
The suspects refused to comment on the allegations but claimed they have evidence proving hazing is a common practice in the company and accepted by the commanders. Some said that hazing was done when soldiers wanted to showcase their physical strength. “We would tell those soldiers to show their six-pack or muscles and then punch them. Nothing was coerced, everything was voluntary.”
The mother of one suspect said, “I won’t let my son, who spent two and a half years of his life in the most elite combat unit, to be turned into a scapegoat. Everyone knows these things are in jest and there is no intent to harm. This is definitely not a one-time incident. It happened over and over again.”
Shai Roda, one of the suspects’ attorneys claimed the exact opposite. “This is a single case that went out of proportion. My client’s name was mistakenly linked to the case.”
