Pork-eating Israeli soldier spared detention after secular outcry

[June 03, 2015]  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli soldier was spared 11 days in detention for eating pork, a non-kosher food, the military said on Tuesday, after a public outcry.

Secular standards sometimes clash with conservative Jewish law in Israel.

Local media said the soldier, an American immigrant, was not aware that his ham sandwich, obtained off-base, was in breach of religious dietary restrictions enforced on military premises.

"Bottom line - we made a mistake," armed forces spokesman Brigadier-General Moti Almoz said on Facebook of the sentence.

"There are tensions in Israeli society, and there are varied positions and opinions. In the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) there is room for everyone," he said.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Louise Ireland)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.