Conclusions of the investigative team to examine ultra-Orthodox recruitment failures reveal serious professional negligence • Among other things, data bias was deliberately disclosed in order to serve the "commander's spirit" and meet recruitment objectives • Senior officers in the Personnel Division were reprimanded • Kochavi chief of staff: "An exceptional event of failure My system "

• Haredi River Soldiers // Photo: IPA

The test team appointed by Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi to check the forgeries and failures in recruiting the ultra-Orthodox to the IDF released its conclusions on Thursday, pointing to systemic, professional and severe command failures that occurred as a result of the "commander's spirit" in the ECHA and a sense of pressure to meet its objectives. Recruitment.

Although no direct instructions from senior commanders, at the rank of lieutenant colonel and above, were found to skew data or provide false reports to meet recruitment objectives, committee members, led by Maj. Gen. Roni Nome, determined that the count was made with severe professional negligence and hundreds of non-anxious soldiers Counted as such.

Following the revelation of the conclusions, the Chief of Staff announced a series of serious command steps in the senior levels of the IDF, including a commanding reprimand for the Chief of Staff in the IDF, General Moti Alamuz, for his overall responsibility and lack of individual initiation and control of his commands. Former BCA, Brigadier General Eran Shani, who is currently on retirement, will be reprimanded for his part in the affair. Maj. Gen. C, former head of the Irgun Manpower Planning Division, will be reprimanded and promoted in the IDF to be detained a year due to his direct command of the Haredi mobilization section.

Photo: Coco

The chief of staff placed the main responsibility on the former head of the ultra-Orthodox section, stating that "the findings justify significant command steps because of his direct responsibility, but because he is released from the IDF and exempt from reserve service, no steps can be taken against him," the IDF spokesman said. A legal advisor to the Personnel Division will be invited to a command call as it has not acted to ensure that the High Court ruling on the matter is familiar to commanders and is in effect implemented.

Serious professional negligence

In early December, Carmela Menashe, a public broadcasting correspondent, revealed that data on the number of soldiers enlisted in the IDF were forged in order to meet recruitment targets. Among other things, the false figures, which increased the number of ultra-Orthodox recruits, to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, were presented to the Minister of Defense. To.

Following the publication, an inspection team was set up by Maj. Gen. Roni Numa, and members of Rabbi Malka Piotrkowski, Yehuda Silk Gold, and Brig. Gen. (res.) Rami Ben Ephraim. In a report presented to the military reporters on Thursday, after being submitted to the chief of staff yesterday "It was determined that the investigation had already begun before the media storm, but the team was formed on the day of the publication in the media. The committee met with dozens of military, government, media, rabbis and public figures, as well as examined many relevant documents and materials, and finally formulated their recommendations.

Photo: Coco

"We have discovered systemic, professional and severe command failures. We have discovered serious professional negligence, deliberately, deliberately and routinely deviating from the law," said General (res.) Numa in a conversation with the military reporters. However, he stated that the Haredi mobilization bluff is "without malice, without forgery and without falsehood. There is no malice here that anyone wants to bluff the data," he said.

The committee found that the gap was defined as "ultra-Orthodox", with officers and opponents dealing with the big gap being defined by law. Today, according to the report, among the ultra-Orthodox ultra-Orthodox, there are also secular people who come from religious backgrounds, and against people who are currently ultra-Orthodox, but did not study in ultra-Orthodox as boys, were not counted as such.

Haredim in recruitment office // Photo: Gideon Markovich

"The investigation team was impressed that over the years, and more specifically since 2014, there has been a sense of pressure from the EAC counting agencies to meet the recruitment goals that have contributed to countdown and reporting failures. Officers and countermeasures have appeared before the investigation team over the years. Some have told us that they deliberately skewed the data in order to serve what they felt as the "commander's spirit" to meet the recruitment goals. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that from a thorough and cross-examination of the issue, the investigation team did not find that direct instructions were given by senior commanders (rank of lieutenant colonel and above) to skew data or submit false reports to meet recruitment objectives.

Some of the factors that dealt with counting over the years, it was further determined, were not adequately trained to perform the task "and counting was performed with serious professional negligence." For example, in the 2017 recruitment year report, several hundred recruits who have no affiliation with the ultra-Orthodox sector were included. The members of the investigation team note that the main reasons for the failure were low level of data and data base, manual and non-mechanized counting and verification process, which exposed many errors and extremely poor information sharing between the Ministry of Education and the AACA section. "Over the years, a poor organizational and professional culture has developed. Which manifests itself in lack of professionalism, lack of clarity among commanders up to the brigade level regarding nurses on the process and counting method, lack of control and surveillance mechanisms and lack of occupation and lack of interest in senior levels. "

There was no suspicion of criminal or political pressure

We also noted that "the overall responsibility for counting failures in relation to 2017-2017 rests on the shoulders of the various personnel in the personnel division, everything from senior levels to junior levels." During this period, the ECHA was headed by two champions - Hagai Topolansky and Motti Almoz. The committee also places responsibility on the Ministry of Defense. "We were impressed with the caution that the Ministry of Defense officials did not play a sufficiently active role in this matter. The firm was expected to show more expansive and active responsibilities. "

Demonstrations against IDF recruiting // Photo: Coco

The committee emphasizes that "with regard to claims made regarding data for financial reasons, the investigation team examined this issue with the tools at its disposal and found no connection or impact of financial motives on the IDF counting and reporting process. In addition, the investigation team did not have any suspicion of criminal matters regarding the counting and reporting process in the years under review. In addition, the investigation team states that there is no relationship between political pressures and the counting and reporting process in the years examined by the team. At the same time, it is worth noting that the staff was exposed to statements by ECHA officers and counterparts, and other stakeholders, pointing to unacceptable involvement by IDF political parties with the list of exemptions from military service for yeshiva students, revocation of service and release from detention of Yeshiva students. .

Finally, members of the review team determined that there was room for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the issue, which has not been done so far. They stated that an improper and unsupervised relationship between the IDF and civilian organizations and civil unions was exposed, which required the series, and made it clear that "the way the organizational change of the establishment of the ultra-Orthodox administration was defective", which should be regulated.

Photo: Coco

The team pointed to an urgent need for the establishment of a digital database for gathering information on ultra-Orthodox UAVs and to establish a professional and systematic counting mechanism, along with clear counting rules and the establishment of internal control and monitoring mechanisms in relation to the counting process. The team recommended to stop reporting the Haredi recruitment data until recommendations were made.

Regarding the political echelon, the team states, action should be taken to update the ultra-Orthodox educational institutions included in the Defense Minister and recommend that the criteria for defining the ultra-Orthodox be included in the new recruitment bill. As long as this definition does not change, the counting should only be done in the IDF's existing databases and receive output from recruits complying with the Haredi definition in accordance with the law. The political echelon and the IDF must create an up-to-date strategy on the issue and on Haredi recruitment and integration. "We recommend gradually reducing the exemption age to serve the national strategy that will be concluded," they wrote.

The Chief of Staff, in response to the report, said it was "a very unusual incident in which a systemic, commanding and severe professional failure occurred." The chief of staff added that the IDF was the first to identify the gaps in counting and reporting, and when they were discovered, processes were underway in the IDF before publishing it. However, it was right to report it immediately and transparently, even before the test was completed. The IDF works fully transparently in publishing the findings of the staff to all relevant parties and the public. The event will learn and its lessons will be implemented at all levels. "