Israeli soldiers pray at the Western Wall. Photo: Wikipedia.

An Israeli soldier who had been disqualified from IDF combat service because of a childhood struggle with leukemia has had that judgment against him reversed.

According to Israel’s Channel 2, the IDF medical board initially wouldn’t allow the soldier, who directs an elite unit, to participate in combat for fear that medications he had taken during his battle with the disease had weakened his heart. But the individual, who remained anonymous in the Channel 2 report, petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court and was recently given permission to participate in combat.

The IDF’s chief medical officer studied the IDF’s policy on the matter, and determined that certain medical criteria allowed  soldiers who received the kind of treatment this soldier did to serve in combat units such as armor, artillery, anti-aircraft (but not infantry, aircraft or elite units).

After the decision the soldier expressed his satisfaction with the result, as did the supreme court, which tossed out the petition.