The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had promised a “severe and rapid” investigation into the desecration of a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon in recent days and so it happened. The punishment for the soldier who hit the statue and the fellow soldier who filmed it was made official in the last few hours: removal from service and 30 days in prison.
The desecrated statue
The desecration had occurred in the Christian village of Debl, in southern Lebanon, and the IDF chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, had also condemned the incident, speaking of “unacceptable conduct and a moral failure”.
The photograph of the demolished statue of Christ and the soldier who was about to crush his head went around the world, exploding condemnation from the political, diplomatic and religious world.
The results of the investigation were presented to the commander of the 162nd Division, Brigadier General Sagiv Dahan, responsible for the sector where the incident occurred.
“The investigation established that the soldiers’ conduct completely deviated from the orders and values of the Israel Defense Forces,” is the army statement reported by the Times of Israel. The troops remaining on site were summoned for a clarification meeting “after which further measures will be taken at command level”.