A number of bereaved parents have turned to the High Court of Justice in their effort to block the appointment of former IAF helicopter pilot Rabbi Rafi Peretz as the next IDF chief rabbi, who is set to replace outgoing chief rabbi, Brigadier-General Avichai Ronsky.

As reported by YWN-Israel in January, the families of fallen soldiers Gil Tzoriano z”l and Assaf Rosenberg z”l oppose the appointed due to what has become to be known as the “1992 Cable Affair’. The parents allege that the pilot, Peretz, then a captain, did nothing to attempt to save the soldiers, members of the IAF elite ‘669’ airborne rescue unit, who slammed to the ground when the chopper’s cable snapped during a training event. Parents of another incident joined the High Court of Justice petition as well.

The mothers are seeking the court’s intervention regarding the decision of IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to appoint Peretz. They are also asking the court to compel the two senior officials to explain why they refuse to meet with them.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)