Haredi battalion comes of age on its 10th anniversary

Netzah Yehuda now has 700 soldiers, including a counter-terror squad.


Yaakov Katz
Israel/JPost
20 August '10
Posted before Shabbat

In March, Lt.-Col. Dror Spiegel finally felt like his battalion had turned into a real fighting machine.

As commander of the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion – formerly known as Nahal Haredi – Spiegel was with his soldiers in the West Bank village of Arane providing support for the Israel Police’s elite Yamam counter-terror unit which was trying to apprehend two Palestinian terror suspects.

As the force entered the village it became clear that the wanted men were not in the same home but the Yamam did not have enough manpower to split up its force.

Spiegel did not waste any time and immediately sent a company to one of the homes.

Within minutes his soldiers had succeeded in apprehending the suspect.

“The ability to quickly switch modes and dispatch a force that is flexible and prepared for such a mission means that we are ready for anything that comes our way,” Spiegel told The Jerusalem Post this week during a tour of northern Samaria.

The interview with Spiegel marked two occasions – the end of his tenure as battalion commander as well as the 10th anniversary of one of the army’s most interesting battalions.

Netzah Yehuda is part of the Kfir Brigade, responsible for most operations these days in the West Bank. Established with a mere 30 soldiers, Netzah Yehuda is today the largest battalion in the IDF, with close to 700 soldiers, including four companies and an elite counter- terror squad.

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