Fallen Soldier's Father Rebukes Rabbi Over Religious Soldiers' Participation in Ceremony
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Yehoshua Shani, father of fallen Captain Uri Mordechai Shani, criticized Rabbi Uri Levi's directive for religious soldiers to attend a memorial ceremony with women singing. Shani stated his son lived and died with pride in his Jewish and military identity, and argued that soldiers should not be forced to choose between orders and faith. He called for a solution allowing all soldiers to participate with dignity in ceremonies honoring the fallen.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Yehoshua Shani criticized Rabbi Uri Levi's directive regarding religious soldiers at a memorial ceremony.
- Shani's son, Captain Uri Mordechai Shani, fell in battle at Kissufim.
- The directive requires religious soldiers to attend a ceremony where women will be singing.
- Shani stated his son lived and died with pride in his Jewish and military identity.
- He called for a way to allow all soldiers to participate with dignity, respecting their faith.
- Shani believes soldiers should not be forced to choose between orders and religious observance.
Yehoshua Shani, the father of fallen soldier Captain Uri Mordechai Shani, has expressed his pain and dismay regarding an instruction from Rabbi Uri Levi, the Rabbi of the Armored Corps, to religious soldiers in the Golani Brigade. The instruction stated that religious soldiers must attend a memorial ceremony despite the presence of women singing, a practice that conflicts with their religious observance. Shani, whose son was a platoon commander in the 51st Battalion of Golani and fell in battle at Kissufim, stated that his son "did not bow his head in his life. He held it high with pride as a Jew, as a fighter, and as a commander." He found it particularly difficult to accept this directive for a ceremony honoring his son and his fallen comrades. Shani argued that the issue is not merely about how a religious soldier should behave during the ceremony, but about respecting the memory and principles of those who fell. He believes that a way should be found to allow all soldiers to participate with dignity, without forcing them to choose between military orders and their faith. "In my eyes, precisely for Uri's honor and the honor of the other fallen, it would be appropriate to seek a way that allows every soldier to participate in the ceremony with dignity, without being forced to choose between an order and his faith and the Halakha by which he lives," he wrote. Shani also addressed the saying "Derech Eretz precedes the Torah," suggesting it means respecting a soldier's faith and conscience, not using it to justify coercion. He concluded by reiterating that his son lived and died with pride in his identity and urged that soldiers who follow his path not be asked to compromise their beliefs at his memorial.
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