It Can Happen There

[Gary Sisco]

Another editorial that illustrates very well Ralph Nader's point that the Israeli press is much freer on the state of Israel than is the US press. From Ha'aretz:

It can happen here



Six months ago a group of demobbed soldiers held an exhibit called "Breaking the Silence," which presented testimonies of severe brutality against Palestinians they had witnessed during their military service in Hebron. The chief of staff's response was to send military police to confiscate the material. Anger over the publicity overcame shame, and until the present no information has emerged from army circles regarding lessons learned, or legal steps that may have been taken against those responsible for the brutality described.




Anyone who was taken by surprise by the appalling testimonies published in Yedioth Ahronoth last Friday about the mutilation of bodies of Palestinian militants and of innocent victims, probably assumed that the Israel Defense Forces is the world's most ethical army. But the IDF is, in fact, like every other occupying force, and the belief that "it can't happen here" is the result both of ignorance and of turning a blind eye to what actually goes on in the territories.

According to the testimonies in Friday's story, and on various Web sites, and in the reports of Machsom [Roadblock] Watch, such behavior is not peculiar to one army unit, but typical of many combat units. "Confirming the kill", i.e. shooting at close range wounded Palestinians who no longer are dangerous, playing macabre games with body parts while posing for a photo, and even sticking a decapitated head on an iron rod with a cigarette dangling from its mouth - all these atrocities have occurred in the IDF. Although it often seems that the public prefers not to know, and not to damage the IDF's reputation, such testimonies may actually serve to save the army and society from profound moral atrophy. Taking pride in the "purity of arms" or attempting to fine-tune the language of an ethical war code are empty slogans, if not accompanied by authoritative action.

The IDF spokesperson, in response to Yedioth Ahronoth, spoke about the fact that soldiers are operating in a "complex reality" - a phrase that betrays understanding for the soldiers' behavior. But this complex reality is in fact quite simple. For decades the IDF and the settlers have acted as they pleased in the territories, while the Palestinians' image as human beings with rights and with a face has gradually diminished. The process of dehumanization has reached a peak during the last four years, and certainly where there is no respect for human life, there can be no respect for the dead.

The ability to demolish a row of houses, at a commander's discretion, to uproot trees, crush private cars with tanks, or build a fence along whatever line seems right to our side, and the ease with which commanders accept the killing of children and innocent civilians, demean the character of Israeli society. The mutilation of Palestinian bodies is especially appalling because it exists alongside Israeli society's almost fetishistic obsession with the dignity of the Jewish dead, and the attempt to give every piece of human remains a Jewish burial.

Only a new political reality in the territories can restore human dignity to the Palestinians and the soldiers. Until then, the IDF must take urgent action to create a new atmosphere in its ranks. The suspension and immediate trial of soldiers suspected of such crimes - no matter what their rank - as was the practice during the first intifada, are crucial for rebuilding the IDF and the State of Israel's moral backbone.