IDF's Maj. Gen. Shamni 'couldn't ignore' harassment complaint vs. Haim Ramon

In his testimony to the state comptroller in August 2008, Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni explained why he encouraged H., a young female officer, to file a complaint of sexual harassment against then minister Haim Ramon. "I believed that in terms of values, ethics and norms," Shamni told Micha Lindenstrauss, "I could not ignore this."

Shamni, who is now GOC Central Command, was military secretary under prime minister Ehud Olmert at that time.

"I was not involved because I was the military secretary," he said, explaining the context of his response, "but because I relate to my soldiers like my own children, and I now have a child who is an officer in the army and can be exposed to the same lurid behavior that H. experienced."

Shamni noted that, "even though I was the military secretary, and even though it was in the middle of war [the Second Lebanon War in 2006], I thought it was appropriate to take the two hours that Saturday morning and to force H. to complain ... She was an officer who was seriously hurt by the blatant, immoral, unacceptable behavior of a minister."

Furthermore, Shamni told Lindenstrauss: "There is this impression that the real victim is not H. but Ramon, and we must remember that this guy did a very serious thing. What kind of message would it be to people? To the public? To society?

"There is the famous photograph [showing Ramon with the female officer] of the hug and she is holding him, and everyone made this girl out to be 'loose.' But she is a child, just a child. And when the photo shoot was over and the soldier left, he grabbed her face and hugged her and kissed her and stuck his tongue in her mouth ... I believe her completely. I think that this is a very serious thing."

Lindenstrauss asked Shamni about his relationship with Ramon. The answer was: "It was very good ... He is a very pleasant man and I have nothing against him. I knew that he is one of the persons closest to the prime minister, and that I am also one of the closest. Will I be hurt by this? I never tried to develop a relationship with a politician - it's something I avoided like the plague."