The two soldiers claim to have reported the molestation to the brigade’s entire command structure from the company commander, to the battalion commander to the brigade commander, Colonel Ofer Winter. But Winter – a Zionist Orthodox soldier with a history of doing and saying extreme things in the name of religion – allegedly decided to cover up the abuse. Military Police were allegedly not notified of the abuse until yesterday after the IDF was embarrassed by Monday's Israel Radio report on the sexual assaults.
Above: Colonel Ofer Winter
Combat Soldiers Allegedly Sexually Assaulted By Commander, Top IDF Zionist Orthodox Officer Allegedly Lies To Victims, Covers Up Crimes
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
The IDF Military Police opened an investigation yesterday into complaints by two combat soldiers from the elite Givati Brigade that their immediate commander sexually molested them, including fondling their genitals.
The problem, as Ha’aretz reported today, is that the sexual assaults happened months ago and the IDF only acted to investigate them after Israel Radio publicized the complaints – and the IDF’s alleged inaction, likely caused by a top Zionist Orthodox officer’s decision to cover up the alleged crimes – Monday.
The two soldiers claim to have reported the molestation to the brigade’s entire command structure from the company commander, to the battalion commander to the brigade commander, Colonel Ofer Winter. But Winter – a Zionist Orthodox soldier with a history of doing and saying extreme things in the name of religion – allegedly decided to cover up the abuse. Military Police were allegedly not notified of the abuse until yesterday after the IDF was embarrassed by the Israel Radio report.
In that Israel Radio report, the IDF claimed that the the two soldiers only claimed that the commander verbally harassed them, and said no actual physical contact was reported.
The two soldiers say this is false and insist they reported the actual sexual molestation and that Winter is covering it up. They say Winter promised them that he “had resolved their problem,” and that the officer who allegedly molested them would leave the Israel Defense Forces because of their complaints.
“The brigade commander told us, ‘I’ve resolved your problem. That officer is no longer in the IDF.’ But after a week I was walking on the base and I saw him right in front of me,” one of two soldiers reportedly told Channel 1 News Monday night.
Under a military order titled “Prohibition of sexual harassment,” all reported incidents of sexual harassment must be handled in consultation with a military prosecutor, Ha’aretz reported. But the IDF’s Military Prosecution department claimed it knew nothing about the alleged molestations until they were exposed by the media – meaning the Zionist Orthodox Winter appears to have violated the IDF’s own protocols to protect the alleged abuser.
Additionally, according to Ha’aretz when soldiers report sexual harassment or assault to commanders, commanders are required to make the complainant aware of all of his or her available options: an investigation by Military Police, handling the complaint within the unit under the guidance of a military prosecutor, or making a report without filing a complaint.
It appears Winter and his subordinate commanders violated this provision of Israel’s military code, as well.
Winter has a long history of violating military procedure to further his religious and military goals and was thought to have been passed over for a recent promotion because of that.
Nonetheless, he is one of Israel’s top combat soldiers and is venerated in the Zionist Orthodox community – and likely will continue to be, even after his alleged coverup of sexual assault and abuse has been made public, just as top Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Mordechai Elon was after his molestation was made public.
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