The IDF's Information Security Department is currently investigating an incident in which Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Wiener lost classified military documents.
About a month ago, Wiener, who holds a senior position in the Southern Command, left a building in a civilian complex in central Israel. During his visit, he dropped several classified documents and left the premises. A security officer at the site identified the documents as highly sensitive IDF materials and reported the incident to the police.
Following the report, the documents were returned to the IDF, and it was decided to open an investigation within the IDF's Information Security Department rather than refer the case to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (CID).
According to sources familiar with the case, the documents appeared to have been misplaced unintentionally. The IDF's Information Security Department is examining whether the documents contained "concealment targets" or other sensitive material whose exposure could cause harm.
Wiener, a former CEO of Willi-Food, previously served as an assistant to the IDF Chief of Staff and gained public attention during the "Harpaz Affair."
Earlier investigations
In 2015, the prosecution decided to close the case against him despite earlier recommendations to indict him. The police investigation at the time found that Wiener and former IDF Spokesperson Avi Benayahu had coordinated to destroy evidence and align testimonies after Wiener was informed by then-IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's directive to investigate a suspected leak of classified information to a journalist in March 2010.
The investigation also revealed that Benayahu unlawfully disclosed Netanyahu's directive to a journalist.
The police recommended indicting Benayahu for breach of trust, destruction of evidence, and obstruction of justice. They also determined that there was sufficient evidence to charge him with negligence in handling classified information that came into his possession and with endangering national security by improperly storing classified materials at his home without authorization—a similar offense attributed to Wiener.
A comparable incident occurred in 2017 when computers containing classified military data were stolen from the home of then-IDF Personnel Directorate Chief Maj. Gen. Hagai Topolanski in the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. Following an investigation into the theft, Topolanski requested to resign from his position, a decision accepted by then-IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.