Former IDF Sayeret Matkal Commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Amiram Levin came out on Friday, publishing an announcement in the leftist paper Haaretz saying that he supports the radical group Breaking the Silence.

The former head of the elite special forces unit and former Northern Commander claimed that the radical leftist group is defending IDF soldiers who are placed in an “impossible position” by politicians who “abandoned” them.

“The orders to silence Breaking the Silence harm and weaken the IDF,” claimed Levin.

He emphasized that “the IDF must encourage Breaking the Silence…to make their voice heard without fear in the IDF and in Israeli society.”

The radical NGO Breaking the Silence – which is mostly funded by European and Palestinian donors – has been caught accepting false “testimonies” allegedly from IDF soldiers, and admits it has no vetting process for verifying which claims are true.

Critics question why the group opts to speak to foreign, largely anti-Israel audiences, as opposed to sharing their “findings” with Israeli military and government officials, if their aim is genuinely to enforce the IDF’s “moral standards.” The reports have fueled massive condemnation of Israel.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) earlier this week banned the group’s activists from entering IDF camps and engaging with IDF soldiers, and Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) later banned the extremist organization from operating within Israel’s school system.

A poll on Tuesday found that 58% of the Israeli public thinks Breaking the Silence should be outlawed, with just 31% opposing the ban.