IDF chief of staff maintains decision to appoint Col. Eyal Karim as chief rabbi

The IDF chief of staff, Lieut. Gen. Gady Eisenkot, announced Wednesday that his decision to appoint Col. Eyal Karim as IDF chief rabbi remains unchanged even though some of Karim's statements were not in line with the military's values. Col. Karim served in the elite paratroopers unit earlier in his career but has been in the military rabbinate in recent years. He came under fire over the past few days after media organizations published comments attributed to him during a time when he was not serving in the military.