Jailed Over a "Mashiach" Patch, Nahal Soldier Released Early

A soldier from the Nahal Brigade, who was sent to military prison after wearing a patch with the word "Mashiach" during an event attended by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, was released from prison today (Wednesday) after serving 18 days of actual jail time.

The soldier’s release comes after he was initially sentenced to 30 days in prison. Later, Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor decided to ease the punishment and reduce the prison term to 20 days. Two additional days were then deducted by the prison commander for good behavior, leading to his early release.

The decision to reduce his sentence came amid a broad public and media uproar surrounding the case. In recent days, many voices were heard from parents of soldiers, family members, friends, and public activists, who argued that the punishment imposed on him was severe and disproportionate to the act he committed.

As part of the public protest, a broad initiative was organized that included signing a letter addressed to the chief of staff. More than 4,500 reserve soldiers, their family members, and bereaved families joined the call to cancel the prison sentence imposed on the soldier. The move was led by the "Dor HaNitzachon" movement, which worked to rally public support and demanded that the command decision be changed.

The signatories argued that, in their view, there is a policy of unequal enforcement within the military, and that in other cases of disciplinary violations a more lenient approach was taken. According to them, sending a soldier to prison for 30 days over wearing a patch does not constitute proportionate punishment.