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Two soldiers kidnapped, and the Gen. Chief of Staff is only worried about his own stocks?!?

I'm sure few have seen anything as jaw-droppingly low as the following. IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, following the news of the two soldiers kidnapped by the Hezbollah, sold his own financial stocks just shortly afterwards:

...IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz admitted today, following a report in Maariv, that he gave orders to sell his investment portfolio just three hours after it was learned that two soldiers had been kidnapped in the north.

The abduction of the soldiers was accompanied by the killing of several soldiers, Katyusha rockets against northern towns, government deliberations that later turned into a decision to wage nearly all-out war - and a decision by Halutz, the head of the army, to sell his stocks. His 120,000-shekel portfolio ($27,300) was sold, and in fact the Tel Aviv Stock Exchanged index dropped 8% over the next two days.

Halutz criticized Maariv for what he called its "tendentious and wicked" report. "I do not intend to be dragged into an issue that casts aspersions on my integrity," he said today. "I am a citizen of this country and I have my own farm."

Politicians in the opposition do not agree. MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) said, "The Chief of Staff is not just like everyone else; he is supposed to symbolize the strength of the IDF... It used to be that leaders would ask what they can do for their country, but now apparently they ask what the stock exchange did today."

MK Zevulun Orlev, head of the National Religious Party, went even further, calling upon the Attorney General to investigate the matter. Orlev said he suspects a possible use of insider information, abuse of one's position, and breach of trust.

"We expect that at critical hours," Orlev said, "the Chief of Staff would be spending all his time and all his efforts only in running the war, and not in managing his personal affairs of profits on the stock exchange."

The Jewish Leadership (Manhigut Yehudit) faction of the Likud called for Halutz to be fired: "No commission of inquiry is needed to reveal the ethical rot of one who received his job in order to expel thousands of Jews from their homes [Halutz was appointed Chief of Staff just ten weeks before the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Shomron - ed.], thus abandoning the State of Israel to an existential threat."

"One who is busy with selling his stocks at the time that he is supposed to be leading the army to war is a person who is corrupt to the core, and is not worthy of heading the Israel Defense Forces," said Manhigut leader Michael Puah.

Unnamed sources in the IDF General Staff said there would probably be no choice but for Halutz to step down.

And he better. The Hezbollah was unleashing hell against Israel in Lebanon, and the Hamas even earlier on Sderot from within Gaza, and all that Halutz is concerned about is his own money? If he's smart, he'll think of donating that money to charity, and even to the families of the soldiers whose lives are in danger, and who knows if they'll ever be rescued successfully, with the way things are going now?

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