"Every Hebrew mother will know that she entrusted the fate of her sons to commanders who deserve it."
These words of David Ben-Gurion, engraved in white letters of kiddush in the office of the Chief of Staff and in many other places in the IDF, left no room for doubt as to the future of Lt. Col. Ephraim Tahila, the outgoing commander of Agoz, from the moment it was revealed that he knowingly lied in a military investigation.
Such a blatant lie is outside the rules of the game in the army, and stands in stark contrast to the value of credibility and telling the truth that appears in the "Spirit of the IDF" document. The truth is the lifeblood of the army, and the IDF has no right to exist without the public's trust in it, and without mutual trust between commanders and subordinates.
The late Major Ofek Aharon and the late Major Itamar Alharr on the background of the Nabi Musa base, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
From the moment Colonel Kochavi became aware of the affair through the publication in Israel Hayom, he was outraged - and rightly so. Just a few months earlier, heavy pressure was put on him to remove Lieutenant Colonel Tehila from the Eggoz unit after two squadron commanders under his command - Major Ofek Aharon Z L and Major Itamar Elharar - were killed in a tragic two-sided shooting incident during the unit's training in the Jordan Valley.
The committee of experts headed by Major General (Ret.) Noam Tivon, which investigated the conduct at Agoz in the three days preceding the incident, then called for Lt. Col. Tahila to be removed from his position, and several senior officers even supported this.
However, Lt. Col. Tahila's former commanders came to his defense, and the operational investigation team led by the Colonel of the Central Command determined that the officer could not have prevented the incident, what with the fact that Tahila was busy with operational activity at the time. Kochavi decided to judge the officer for a slur, to allow him to finish his post at Agoz, and to punish him only by canceling his appointment to brigade commander and delaying his promotion for two years. But Lt. Col. Tehila's gross lie was the straw that broke the camel's back.
From the moment the Chief of Staff found out that Lt. Col. Tehila had lied in a military investigation, it was clear to everyone that his military career was over.
Lieutenant General Ephraim Tahila, photo: Yossi Zeliger
Still, almost a month has passed since the exposure in "Israel Hayom" and the decision to remove him from the army - and not without reason.
The deliberation at the top of the IDF was difficult: on the one hand, in the army they wanted to depose him because lying in an operational investigation is not marginal evidence but serious value evidence, and a deviation from the norms expected of IDF officers.
On the other hand, the General Staff did not want to completely erase the rights of a combat commander who had been awarded two different slays in IDF operations in the Gaza Strip, and tried to avoid harming his economic rights as well, and as a result, harming his wife and children, who had not sinned.
From the moment Colonel Kochavi became aware of the affair, he was furious, and rightfully so. Just a few months earlier, heavy pressure was placed on him to remove Lieutenant Colonel Tehila after two company commanders under his command were killed in a two-sided shooting incident
In the wisdom of hindsight, Lt. Col. Tehilo should have been deposed after the death of the two factions, if only because of the problematic norms, to say the least, that were exposed at the time in Agoz.
But better late than never.
In his decision yesterday to depose Lt. Col. Tahila, Lt. Col. Kochavi made a distinction between operational backing for an officer, and an unusual and sharp impeachment for a lie, even when it comes to an officer decorated with two tricolors.
The punishment of Lt. Col. Tahila is already reverberating in the IDF, and in the near future the affair will be mentioned in the value discourse that will take place within the army in various forums.
We can only hope that whoever receives the command of our sons and daughters, will be worthy of it and will carry the banner of truth over Ness.
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