An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman made every effort on the evening of Aug. 10 to distance Col. Ofer Winter, commander of the Givati Brigade, from the strange decision to replace singer Sarit Hadad with Moshe Peretz at a performance before the troops from the brigade, who had fought in the Gaza Strip during Operation Protective Edge.

The performance in question was a special concert, scheduled to take place before 5,000 soldiers next week at a gathering of the Givati Brigade. Hadad accepted the invitation to volunteer a performance, but on Sunday it was announced that Peretz, and not Hadad, would appear in the concert. Army sources claimed that the decision was made by the brigade’s commander. Winter, an Orthodox Jew, refused to allow a woman to perform before his troops, so Hadad was replaced by Peretz.

In other words, this is yet another case of female exclusion in the IDF. What makes this case different, however, is that this time, it was reportedly led by one of the most senior officers in the army's combat forces.

In a meandering and unconvincing response, an IDF spokesman claimed that Peretz was the more popular artist among the troops, and that Winter did actually look into a joint performance by him and Hadad, but that in the end, such a performance was impossible for technical reasons.