Five soldiers were found guilty of accepting sufganiyot (jelly donuts) and they are being ousted from their unit, the border crossings unit of the military police for accepted goods and services. Some of the jelly donuts were given to them by Arabs in exchange for lighter inspections at the crossing.

When Kol Yisrael military correspondent Carmela Menashe checked into the story, she learned something a bit different from the story explained above. One of the soldiers, a female, who was a combat soldiers for two years, was being sent to prison for her offense as she accepted jelly donuts from Chabadnikim. Two additional female soldiers were sentenced to military lockup and their “combatant ID” (Teudat Lochem) was taken from them, a severe consequence for such an infraction. Two other soldiers are still awaiting to hear what their punishments will be.

The soldiers insist there are expected to fulfill an impossible mission, to remain at a checkpoint for 12 consecutive hours and check each and every vehicle. This is the reason they explain they accept food and drink from Israelis and Arabs alike they explain.

In response to the report, a military official told Kol Yisrael that each crossing is equipped with everything necessary for the soldier and they were judged because they crossed an unacceptable red line.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)