A message sent to Golani soldiers by a military rabbi ahead of a ceremony Wednesday evening commemorating those who fell in the war has sparked an uproar.

The message, signed by the Golani Training Base rabbi, Capt. Rabbi Uri Levy, stated that according to the IDF’s Joint Service regulations, soldiers may not skip an official state ceremony because of women singing or due to their religious lifestyle.

“Dear soldiers, this evening we will hold the ceremony commemorating those who fell in the War of Revival,” Rabbi Levy wrote. “The ceremony is also expected to include women singing. Nevertheless, under the Joint Service regulations, at official state ceremonies there is no option to be absent from the ceremony because of women singing or because of one’s lifestyle. Therefore, I ask everyone to respect the ceremony and remember that ‘Derech Eretz Kadma L’Torah.’”

He added: “Anyone who finds this difficult may lower his head and avoid looking toward the stage during the singing.”

“This is an important ceremony of remembrance, respect and unity, and especially in these days, it is important that we stand together, one alongside the other, with mutual respect.”

The message drew a sharp response from the “Wives of Soldiers for the Kedushas HaMachaneh” organization, which issued a statement saying: “There is no limit to the outrage. On the day marking the October 7 massacre, in which Golani soldiers fought with extraordinary heroism and lost their lives, an official from the Military Rabbinate — who should have assisted the soldiers and preserved the kedushas hamachaneh — is participating in anti-religious coercion against them and seriously infringing on their way of life, while even lecturing them about ‘Derech Eretz’?”

“Where is the basic respect for observant Jewish soldiers? Where is the kedushas hamachaneh? Where is the army’s Jewish character? The obliteration of Jewish identity — these are precisely the progressive values that brought the IDF to collapse, and the lesson has not been learned.”

The group demanded intervention from senior officials in the defense establishment and the Military Rabbinate.

“We call on Defense Minister Yisrael Katz to intervene and protect the soldiers, and on IDF Chief Rabbi Brig. Gen. Rabbi Eyal Karim to investigate this serious incident and punish those responsible.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)