chatterbox? Public Security Minister Amar Bar Lev revealed this morning (Tuesday), when asked to comment on Israel's Memorial Day, the name of Syria as the enemy country where First Sergeant Barak Sharabi fell in 1984 - contrary to the position of military censorship.
Free online training: How to become a sought-after bridal instructor?
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
Bar Lev, who was Sharabi's commander in Sayeret Matkal, recalled his command when asked in an interview with Reshet B about his personal feelings on Memorial Day - and spoke about the operation that has been under the shadow of censorship for many years.
""He was killed deep in Syrian territory under my command," Minister Bar-Lev revealed in an interview.
The censor initially prohibited the publication of the location of Sharabi's fall, but following the minister's outburst, it was finally forced to approve the publication.
Channel 12 reported that then-Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Major General Ehud Barak, the commander of the Bar-Lev patrol, and the commander in the field, Avi Dichter, participated in the preparation of the strategic operation in question.
For years, the publication of any details about the operation, which was considered a turning point in the life of the patrol, was prohibited. Unusually, to this day, representatives of the General Staff Patrol are present at every interview given by the family, in order to prevent the event from being leaked.
No response was provided on behalf of Minister Bar Lev.
According to the Yizkor website, Barak was drafted into the IDF in mid-October 1981. He was initially assigned to a Navy squadron, but after deciding that he and the sea "do not go together," he volunteered for the IDF's Sayeret Matkal. In the Sayeret, he took a parachuting course, a combat medic course, an armored personnel carrier driver course, and was certified as a combat scout. With his teammates, he went on long journeys, exercises, and grueling training.
According to Yizkor, Barak stood up to all the hardships with dignity, despite the difficulties he suffered: once his hand dried up, due to a heavy load that he absolutely refused to unload. And another time, while navigating azimuths, his leg swelled to enormous proportions, and he refused to stop and dragged himself along by force of will for two whole days. As the team's medic, Barak took care of his friends above and beyond, even in things that were not directly related to his role as a medic. It is no wonder, then, that everyone loved him and longed to be in his company.
The late Sharabi took part with his unit in the Galilee Peace War and returned safely. On December 18, 1984, Sharabi fell while performing his duty and was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Ness Ziona. He left behind his parents and two sisters.
Bar Lev made another slip of the tongue in the interview, when he was asked about things said by another member of his party, Minister Nachman Shai - who claimed: "We came out of the month of Ramadan in peace," in which 15 Israelis were murdered.
In his response, the minister said, among other things: "There were no murders in the last month." This, even though only last Friday, security guard Vyacheslav Golev was murdered in a shooting attack.
