The Chief of Staff, Major General Aviv Kochavi, participated tonight (Sunday) in lighting the first Hanukkah candle in the Netzach Yehuda Battalion.
Chief of Staff Kochavi said during the lighting ceremony: “Israel’s unity is best expressed in the IDF. The IDF is a rare opportunity for the people of Israel to take people who would not meet, and naturally connect them. The IDF is not a melting pot. Union.
This battalion gives a glimpse of what is happening in the IDF, people from different backgrounds, from different places in the country, religious, secular, traditional – all together enlist in the IDF, and serve in the tank, in the submarine’s belly and in the Iron Dome battery. “IDF fighters are the modern Maccabees. I am proud of you and trust you.”
The commander of the Eternal Judea Battalion, Lt. Col. Matti Shevach, said: “We are on the first night of Hanukkah – a holiday we celebrate every year for 8 days for over 2,000 years, a holiday that is a consensus among the people of Israel for all its communities and customs – a holiday whose Hanukkah has become a national symbol.
This holiday we celebrate not just one thing – the result, the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks, but we celebrate the way, the process and the values that led the Hasmonean family to victory over the Greek Empire, traits assimilated into the DNA of our people to this day and pulsate us every time Re when there is a new enemy who wants us.
Today, we are honored by lighting candles in the presence of the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff and the other commanders and dignitaries.
A place that in my eyes symbolizes more than anything the way of the Maccabees of today.
I was privileged to serve in the Eternal Judea Battalion for over 16 years, from soldier to the present day as the battalion commander, and I found here – here in this battalion, these characteristics more than anywhere else.
The fighters who come to serve here choose to come to serve in the battalion following the belief in the righteousness of the way. In the eyes of the soldiers of the Eternal Judea Battalion in the sense that continues the path of the Maccabees.
The Eternal Judea Battalion is ready for any task that may be required, and one goal before our eyes – victory, in every encounter with an enemy. We will rise, fight and win. “