Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Wiener was dismissed from the IDF on Tuesday, two days afterYnet reported he had lost highly classified documents. IDF Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor announced he had decided to end Wiener’s reserve service due to what he called a “serious security breach,” after Wiener removed and lost classified documents from the Southern Command.
Asor said the decision was backed byIDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who stressed the importance of maintaining information security. A day after the document loss was exposed, Ynet reported that Zamir was expected to dismiss Wiener from the military.
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IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez WienerIDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Wiener
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Wiener
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit, Gil Yochanan)
As head of the Southern Command’s operational planning department, Wiener had participated in planning an airstrike in Gaza the night before his dismissal. However, neither Zamir nor Asor was aware of the document loss until Ynet’s report, leading to Wiener’s removal amid preparations for the operation.
In his statement, Asor thanked Wiener “for many years of service and volunteer work and especially for his significant contribution over the past 17 months of fighting in the war, during which he worked tirelessly for Israel’s security.”
The incident came to light after Ynet’s inquiry revealed that Wiener had lost highly classified documents about six weeks ago in a civilian parking lot in Ramat Gan, violating military regulations.
Asor was further surprised that no disciplinary action had been taken against Wiener and that the matter had been kept in wraps within the command. The issue was not included in the handover briefing between outgoing Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman and Asor, despite the case remaining open.
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טקס חילוף מפקד פיקוד דרוםטקס חילוף מפקד פיקוד דרום
IDF Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The IDF was also surprised to discover that while an investigation was launched, the military police had not opened a criminal probe into the incident. The potential damages from the lost documents, which had been removed from the Southern Command base in Be’er Sheva, remains unclear. Following the report, the military is now considering opening a criminal investigation.
One focus of the IDF’s probe is what Wiener was doing with the sensitive documents in the Ramat Gan office tower parking lot before a civilian meeting. Wiener declined to comment and the military has not ruled out a connection between his unauthorized removal of the documents and his ties to Smotrich.