A soldier from the Nachal Brigade entered military prison Sunday evening to begin serving a 30-day sentence imposed after he wore a “Moshiach” patch on his uniform, sparking outrage among fellow soldiers and parents in his unit.

The soldier, identified only as A., had originally been scheduled to report to prison Sunday morning, but the growing public controversy surrounding the punishment reportedly led the IDF to alter the timing of his incarceration.

The soldier’s parents expressed disbelief over the decision and vowed not to remain quiet.

“We are digesting this, but we are in absolute shock!! We will not be silent in the face of this injustice.”

Members of the company reacted angrily to the punishment, saying it had deeply damaged morale throughout the unit.

“They lowered morale for all of us.”

One of A.’s platoon members, who fought alongside him in Lebanon and is currently engaged in operational activity in Samaria, published an emotional statement defending the imprisoned soldier and criticizing the army’s decision.

“For you, this is the patch controversy; for us, this is [about] our best friend. He was the heart of this family. To take a soldier who did everything for the country, and suddenly put him in prison for 30 days and remove him from combat service? It is inhuman. It crushes him and us, and since this happened, the entire company has been extinguished. The State is simply erasing everything for him in an instant.”

According to soldiers in the company, the punishment has dealt a major blow to the spirit of the unit, which they say achieved some of the army’s highest operational accomplishments during recent fighting in Lebanon.

After the decision to imprison the soldier was finalized Sunday, parents of fighters in the company issued a sharp statement accusing senior military leadership of selective enforcement and unfair treatment.

“We understand discipline, but patches exist throughout the army, in regular service and in the reserves. Why place an entire phenomenon on the shoulders of one innocent soldier who did what half the army does openly? There is outrageous discrimination here on the part of the senior command. The Chief of Staff leaves in their positions, without any punishment, figures who actively worked to dismantle the army from within, while against specifically a combat soldier they use the most crushing punishment. We will not remain silent about this.”

The parents also announced plans to begin a broader public campaign over the issue, saying they intend to continue the fight until the soldier’s name is cleared and the unit’s reputation restored.

“The struggle will not stop until justice is achieved, the name of the soldier and the entire company is cleared, and Jewish-Zionist pride and strength are restored to the fighters on the front line. At this time, the people of Israel need their heroes standing tall and proud of their identity, not under persecution and silencing.”