Shimshon Battalion soldiers and their families are in an uproar over the repeated evacuations of the residents of Homesh, during the week and on Shabbos. The evacuations often become violent, and two weeks ago the outcry against those evacuations reached a new level: new recruits from the religious platoon and the secular platoon held up signs during their swearing-in ceremony at the Kotel, which read, "We won't evacuate Homesh". Those recruits are now receiving support from reserve soldiers from the Shimshon battalion – soldiers who served in the IDF in the past, and many of whom still report for reserve duty.

A total of 25 reserve soldiers, including officers, sergeants, company commanders, and combat soldiers, who served in the Battalion in the past, signed a harsh letter - unprecedented in the history of the Battalion. The letter was addressed to Shomron Brigade commander Colonel Itzik Bar, and commander of the Shimshon Battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Tzion Shenkor, who lead the evacuation and the Shabbat desecration in the settlement.

Representatives of the reserve soldiers arrived at the command post of the battalion, and handed the letter directly to the Commander of the battalion, Liutenant-Colonel Tzion Shenkor. A copy of the letter, which included 25 signatures, was sent to The Shomron Brigade commander, Colonel Itzik Bar.

The letter stated: "We, the past soldiers of Shimshon and the present reserves solders, who wish to take our beloved Shimshon Brigade back to the days of its splendor and gallantry, hereby turn to the regiment commander and the brigade commander to help us with this important mission. Battalion 92, the Shimshon Battalion, has a glorious history of fighting terror and defending the citizens of Israel. We fought with the battalion in Gush Katif, in Netzarim, in Nisanit and in Gush Etzion, we were part of a fighting family in which everyone knew who the enemy was and how to treat it. The battalion's commanders' occupation with political whims in the ruins of Homesh in Samaria in recent months, the observation and persecution of Jews, the joyous cries as if they were among the greatest terrorists – these all cause us great shame."

The letter continued, "It's no wonder that the battalion's recruits are anxious about their military future with the end of their course, and are concerned that their military talents may be exploited to carry out political policies that have no relation to the security needs of the State of Israel. All this leads us to take extreme steps, in an attempt to protest against and fight this trend. We urge the commanders of the Battalion to stop acting on all kinds of political whims, and go back to the true national missions – a crushing war against terrorists and enemies."

Reserve Lieutenant Aryeh Idels was a commander of a combat division, and was one of the reservists to sign the letter. He explained his motivation for signing. "I fought for four years in the Shimshon Battalion, I loved the battalion and I was proud of it. Today I am simply full of shame. It is hard for me to say that this is my battalion, these are not the values I was educated on – of adamant fighting against the enemy, making contact, initiative, surprise and creativity in striking the terrorists, the enemies."

Staff sergeant Yedidya Noiman, another reserve soldier who signed the letter, said, "I am not a settler, and not a political activist, I also don't know if I would have waved signs as a soldier; but the acts that the battalion has unfortunately carried out in the evacuation of Jews in recent months are mainly the acts of political policing."

The letter from the reserve soldiers was sent several days before a celebration scheduled for Motzei Shabbos, in honor of the two soldiers who held up the signs at the Kotel. This coming Saturday night (parshas Chayei Sarah), a festive reception will be held in Jerusalem for the soldiers of Platoon 2, Aryeh Arbus and Achya Ovadia, who held up the controversial signs at the Kotel that read, "We will not evacuate Homesh!". The families and friends of the soldiers, as well as hundreds of Israeli citizens, will be present to honor the soldiers for the daring act they committed two weeks ago during their swearing-in ceremony. Secular soldiers and their families also plan to attend the event, as a show of support. Several secular soldiers also held up signs during the swearing-in ceremony, but they were not tried for their actions. (The two religious soldiers were tried by a military court, and sentenced to 21 days in military jail.)

Rabbi Dov Lior, shlita, Rabbi of Kiryat Arba and Rosh Yeshiva, and Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg, shlita, along with other yeshiva heads, rabbis and public figures will also attend the event, which is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. in the Shirat Yerushalayim Hall at 64 Kanfei Nesharim Street.