In a welcome sight for the dati leumi tzibur, two officers who are Shomer Shabbos were recently appointed to prestigious posts. Colonel Kobi Heller, 41, has been appointed as the commander of the Commando Brigade. Colonel Avi Blot has become Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s new military secretary.
Heller, who was raised in Karnei Shomron, is a graduate of the Yamit Yeshiva Hesder that was in N’vei Dekalim before the expulsion from Gush Katif.
He entered the IDF via the Golani Brigade’s elite Pulsar unit, later serving as its commander. He later commanded the 51st Golani Battalion during Operation Defensive Shield as well as the elite Egoz unit. He served in other command posts as well, and his unit was the recipient of the Chief of Staff Award for excellence during Operation ‘Good Neighbor’ in dealing with wounded Syrians brought for treatment to Israel. He also commanded the elite Duvdevan reconnaissance unit which is part of the Paratroops Brigade during ‘Operation Protective Edge’, and the unit also received the Chief of Staff’s Award during his command.
He is the third kippa sruga officer to command this relatively new brigade, established three years ago. To date, all of the commanders have been religious officers.
In addition, last week, Colonel Avi Blot, another Shomer Shabbat officer, was promoted to brigadier-general and to serve as the new military secretary to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
how will that help the draft crisis?
#1 It will help service soldiers that are torah observant and in these brigades.
Mazal tov and much hatzlacha to Colonel Heller.
daass torah – Why should this ‘help’ the ‘draft crisis’? There is, of course, the very remote possibility that, over time, people like you will come to understand that the so called ‘draft crises’ is just bad propaganda, that no such ‘crisis’ exists and that there is no problem to serve in the IDF, rise in its ranks and be completely observant. Many, many rabbanim, roshei yeshivot and dayanim have served (and continue to serve) in the IDF as have multitudes of perfectly observant Jews (including thousands of charedim) and no spiritual harm has befallen them. Quite the contrary in fact. Yes, once upon a time, a long, long time ago, it was difficult to be observant in the army. Those days are long gone and exist today only in the fevered minds of charedi propagandists.