IDF Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom, chief of staff of the Golani Brigade, submitted his resignation on Monday over the death of a civilian archaeologist whom he had allowed to enter southern Lebanon against army protocol and who was subsequently shot by Hezbollah terrorists.
IDF Maj. (res.) Ze’ev Erlich, 71, a renowned scholar and expert on the Land of Israel, was killed on Nov. 20 when he entered an ancient fortress about four miles from Israel’s northern border.
IDF Sgt. Gur Kehati was killed alongside Erlich, and Yarom was himself wounded in the incident.
Yarom, who served 33 years in the military, wrote in his resignation letter, “In light of the values I was brought up on and preached, being that ‘actions speak louder than words,’ I believe that I must take operational responsibility for the event. Therefore, I would like to terminate my position as chief of staff of the brigade.”
Erlich, from the community of Ofra in the Binyamin region of central Samaria, is the oldest member of the IDF to be killed in the war that was initiated by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the northwestern Negev.
Though Erlich was not active in reserve service, the IDF’s Personnel Directorate reportedly decided to recognize him as a fallen soldier.
“We are shocked by Jabo’s [Erlich’s] departure,” said Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, describing Erlich as “a man whose name was a symbol for knowledge and love of the land” and one of the founders of Ofra.
The Yesha Council, which represents the interests of the some 500,000 Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, eulogized the slain researcher as “one of the pillars of the settlement and the forefathers of the study of geography, archeology, and Jewish history in Judea and Samaria.
“For many years, he volunteered and greatly assisted soldiers in various sectors with recognizing the villages and sites,” it added. “We share in the great sorrow of his family, students and the entire Ofra family.”
For decades, Erlich held regular lectures for soldiers and officers of the Binyamin Brigade deployment area, who often granted him entry and protection to enter areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
In 2012, the IDF confirmed to Ynet that it “routinely receives requests for a security escort” to restricted sites in Judea and Samaria, including from Erlich. “Each request is examined in view of the current status while maintaining the security forces assignments,” it said at the time.
