Brig. Gen (res.) Iftach Spector, the highest-ranking officer to sign the "pilots' letter," declaring the refusal to participate in operations in the territories in 2003, was last week awarded the golden wings given to Israel Air Force pilots to mark the 50th anniversary of their graduation from flight school.
The insignia was bestowed on Spector less than two weeks after the Israel Defense Forces decided to dismiss from service a Kfir Brigade soldier for waving a sign in support of refusing to evacuate unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank.
In 2003, at the height of the second intifada, Spector was the commander of the IAF's Ramat David and Tel Nof bases and was considered one of the best fighter pilots in Israeli history.
He downed 12 enemy planes in the course of his career and was one of the pilots who attacked Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. Spector shocked his colleagues when he signed the letter in which 27 IAF pilots declared their refusal to take part in operations in the territories that they claimed were illegal and immoral.
All of the signatories were forced to leave their IAF reserve duty posts, but Spector did stay on as a flight instructor.
The incident led to Spector's autobiography, "Loud and Clear: The Memoir of an Israeli Fighter Pilot," in which he settled scores with then IAF commander Dan Halutz for saying, famously, that when he dropped a one-ton bomb on a populated neighborhood he felt:
Spector accused Halutz of encouraging a culture within the IDF of compromising one's principles.
The award ceremony last Tuesday is part of an IAF tradition in which pilots, or their relatives if the pilots themselves have died, are awarded the 50-year patch. Among the recipients this time were former IAF commander Avihu Bin-Nun and former IDF chief education officer Nehemia Dagan.
Spector said this week that he, unlike some of his fellow pilots' letter signatories, never retracted his decision and that, to the best of his knowledge, the IAF never reversed its decision to dismiss from military service those who signed. He noted that in the past several years he has been invited to many IAF functions.
"There was never any problem with them, with the exception of the decision to dismiss, there was no change in the attitude to me, either positively or negatively. It's an emotional thing."
IAF officials admitted that Spector could not have been invited to an important IAF ceremony while Halutz commanded that branch of service or later, when he was IDF chief of staff.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said in response:
The insignia was bestowed on Spector less than two weeks after the Israel Defense Forces decided to dismiss from service a Kfir Brigade soldier for waving a sign in support of refusing to evacuate unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank.
In 2003, at the height of the second intifada, Spector was the commander of the IAF's Ramat David and Tel Nof bases and was considered one of the best fighter pilots in Israeli history.
He downed 12 enemy planes in the course of his career and was one of the pilots who attacked Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981. Spector shocked his colleagues when he signed the letter in which 27 IAF pilots declared their refusal to take part in operations in the territories that they claimed were illegal and immoral.
All of the signatories were forced to leave their IAF reserve duty posts, but Spector did stay on as a flight instructor.
The incident led to Spector's autobiography, "Loud and Clear: The Memoir of an Israeli Fighter Pilot," in which he settled scores with then IAF commander Dan Halutz for saying, famously, that when he dropped a one-ton bomb on a populated neighborhood he felt:
"Nothing. Just a light buffet on the wing, that's all."
Spector accused Halutz of encouraging a culture within the IDF of compromising one's principles.
The award ceremony last Tuesday is part of an IAF tradition in which pilots, or their relatives if the pilots themselves have died, are awarded the 50-year patch. Among the recipients this time were former IAF commander Avihu Bin-Nun and former IDF chief education officer Nehemia Dagan.
Spector said this week that he, unlike some of his fellow pilots' letter signatories, never retracted his decision and that, to the best of his knowledge, the IAF never reversed its decision to dismiss from military service those who signed. He noted that in the past several years he has been invited to many IAF functions.
"There was never any problem with them, with the exception of the decision to dismiss, there was no change in the attitude to me, either positively or negatively. It's an emotional thing."
IAF officials admitted that Spector could not have been invited to an important IAF ceremony while Halutz commanded that branch of service or later, when he was IDF chief of staff.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said in response:
"The IAF conducts a ceremony in which the IAF commander gives a golden wings pin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of graduation from flight school. This ceremony is part of the IAF's heritage. The pins were awarded to pilots' course graduates who completed their training between 1957 and 1960, including Brig. Gen. (res.) Iftach Spector. Brig. Gen Spector received the decoration like the rest of his class, to mark 50 years as a pilot."
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