Right-wing activists protest outside IDF chief’s house, said to call him ‘traitor’

Demonstrators angry at jailing of soldier who wore a controversial, unauthorized ‘Messiah’ patch on combat uniform; opposition figures blame government

A small group of right-wing protesters demonstrated Saturday outside IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir’s house, calling him a “traitor” amid a controversy over troops adorning their uniforms with unauthorized symbols.

The protest, according to Channel 12, opposed the IDF’s jailing of a soldier for wearing an unauthorized patch on his uniform reading “Messiah.” Zamir had spotted the soldier during a visit to an army post in the West Bank and had called him out. The soldier later received a 30-day jail sentence.

The protesters blasted music outside Zamir’s home and waved Israeli flags, one of which also appeared to feature the word “Messiah.” The group shouted, “Lions of the Right,” according to Channel 12.

The protest also reportedly included shouts of “traitor” and “subverter of Israel,” a Biblical term used to describe someone who brings trouble to the Jewish people.

They demanded that Zamir “protect the fighters,” not jail them.

Opposition leaders condemned the protest and blamed the right-wing government for encouraging extremists.

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, who is himself a former IDF chief of staff, posted to X, “The fact that politics and hate reached the home of the chief of staff is a wake-up call to us all,” and stressed that the matter of military discipline should be solely in the hands of army commanders.

He called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz to back Zamir and army commanders and “to condemn the calls ‘traitor’ that were heard against the chief of staff.”

“The shocking calls outside of the chief of staff’s home cross a bright red line, and are a severe warning sign for the future of Israeli society,” posted Gadi Eisenkot, another former IDF chief who now heads the opposition Yashar party. “Calling the chief of staff, who commands the IDF and has tied his fate to the security of the country, a ‘traitor’ and ‘subverter of Israel’ is a deep disgrace and a moral void.”

He castigated the government for not condemning the protest, a decision he called “submission in the face of the assault on the commander of the Israel Defense Forces.”

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is also running to unseat Netanyahu, wrote, “Every moment that the prime minister and defense minister continue to stay silent is an expression of support for their calls of ‘traitor’ against the chief of staff.”

After the patch-wearing soldier was sentenced to 30 days in prison earlier this month, some members of the government coalition criticized Zamir, including Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who called the jailing “the straw that broke the camel’s back” in the army chief’s behavior. Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, who chairs the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, denounced the prison sentence as “scandalous.”

The phenomenon of soldiers displaying controversial phrases or imagery on their uniforms predates the recent wars, but has gained popularity among religious soldiers after the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terror onslaught.

Last year, the IDF announced a series of dramatic changes to its dress code for soldiers, including banning non-military patches, and stipulating that troops may only display insignia such as the Israeli flag, their name and their unit’s emblem.

Despite this measure, the IDF has faced mounting scrutiny in recent months over soldiers wearing unauthorized badges bearing religious, messianic and political messages — particularly in the West Bank — where unprecedented levels of attacks on Palestinians by settlers have drawn allegations that some troops have failed to intervene or, in certain cases, even assisted in attacks.