25 Oct 2019; MEMO: After being charged with harassing lower-ranking female soldiers, the head of the Israeli naval operations, Brigadier General Shai El-Baz resigned.
The Israeli army said that El-Baz, who took over as chief of operations in May last year and had previously headed the Shayetet 13 commando unit, resigned following news of his involvement in events a decade ago.
The resignation came on the backdrop of a report published late last week by the Israeli TV Channel 12 that a number of women had accused the general of sexually harassing them while they worked in the unit.
“A second military officer identified in a forthcoming television exposé on improper sexual relationships and sexual harassment in the navy announced his retirement on Wednesday, a day after the resignation of the head of naval operations over the report,” the Times of Israel reported.
The number of reported sexual harassment cases in the Israeli army rose to 20 per cent in 2017 compared to 18 per cent in 2016.
In the light of the escalation of sexual assaults in the Israeli army, in 2017 the army launched an educational programme to prevent sexual assaults, and also set up a rehabilitation centre for soldiers who fall victim to sexual assaults.
