IDF Officer Stole His Soldier’s Cell Phone

An IDF Lieutenant has been charged in a military court for stealing a cell phone belonging to one of his soldiers. According to the indictment, the officer inserted his SIM into the phone immediately thereafter. His lawyer: “He thought it was an abandoned phone.” The officer will soon be sentenced

Jun 02, 2014, 05:48PM | Jacob Northbrook

Illustration AP

“Respect and camaraderie between himself and his soldiers, serving as a personal example and taking responsibility.” This is how an IDF officer is expected to carry himself, yet recent events that have taken place between an IDF officer and his soldier, prove that this is not always the case.

In May 2013, an officer serving in a combat information collection unit in the Negev, entered the room of one of his soldiers, in the early morning hours, and stole his Samsung S3 cell phone.
“The officer immediately used the cell phone, inserting his SIM card, into the device upon taking it,” reads the indictment. He was charged with theft and conduct unbecoming of an officer. 
The officer was charged in a military court, and will be sentenced in the coming weeks. “This is an exemplary officer with a clean record,” said his lawyer. “The facts of the case, point to a mistake made by the officer, who thought this was an abandoned cell phone, which is why the officer took the phone, and did not use it. We are confident this case will be found in his favor, so he can go on with his life.”