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<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 12:11 PM, Bill
Koehnlein <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:bill@toplab.org" target="_blank">bill@toplab.org</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
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<p>Israel: Breaking the Silence under Siege</p>
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<div>Haaretz</div>
December 18, 2015<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.haaretz.com_israel-2Dnews_.premium-2D1.692518&d=BQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=_iuwmBDMEAIAz6k1h--JVoji6x5mlDiImSbbdIp2zWg&m=u24dL0zbgABF5hrKhhIlLorh8a-WTPYv0_Yu9-Qc-cM&s=YON2327MAaEk1tLRfGjtwtet2c0Dr9l8f3KIQmN_bUY&e="
target="_blank">http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.692518</a><br>
<br>
</div>
<div>[See also the accompanying articles: "<a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.haaretz.com_opinion_.premium-2D1.692275&d=BQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=_iuwmBDMEAIAz6k1h--JVoji6x5mlDiImSbbdIp2zWg&m=u24dL0zbgABF5hrKhhIlLorh8a-WTPYv0_Yu9-Qc-cM&s=7KomWygRY6JmMVkrTvxykPN4ARir3t6iF6WZLPcka_M&e="
target="_blank">Hooray for the Snitches of
Breaking the Silence</a>" at <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.haaretz.com_opinion_.premium-2D1.692275&d=BQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=_iuwmBDMEAIAz6k1h--JVoji6x5mlDiImSbbdIp2zWg&m=u24dL0zbgABF5hrKhhIlLorh8a-WTPYv0_Yu9-Qc-cM&s=7KomWygRY6JmMVkrTvxykPN4ARir3t6iF6WZLPcka_M&e="
target="_blank"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.692275">http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.692275</a></a>;
"<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.haaretz.com_opinion_.premium-2D1.692012&d=BQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=_iuwmBDMEAIAz6k1h--JVoji6x5mlDiImSbbdIp2zWg&m=u24dL0zbgABF5hrKhhIlLorh8a-WTPYv0_Yu9-Qc-cM&s=cjX-LRdW3u2DSGoGF4m39z5xFGPgMwdDNwmRcqPiqtU&e="
target="_blank">Israel's Anti-Occupation
Soldiers Are Putting Their Necks on the Line</a>"
at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.haaretz.com_opinion_.premium-2D1.692012&d=BQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=_iuwmBDMEAIAz6k1h--JVoji6x5mlDiImSbbdIp2zWg&m=u24dL0zbgABF5hrKhhIlLorh8a-WTPYv0_Yu9-Qc-cM&s=cjX-LRdW3u2DSGoGF4m39z5xFGPgMwdDNwmRcqPiqtU&e="
target="_blank">http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.692012</a>;
and "<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.haaretz.com_opinion_.premium-2D1.692273&d=BQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=_iuwmBDMEAIAz6k1h--JVoji6x5mlDiImSbbdIp2zWg&m=u24dL0zbgABF5hrKhhIlLorh8a-WTPYv0_Yu9-Qc-cM&s=WfYfhXXPgiRnPsD3Tw-x0EVJQo6Mzbz152fqUXkxZ00&e="
target="_blank">Im Tirtzu and the
Proto-Fascist Plot to Destroy Israeli
Democracy</a>" at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.haaretz.com_opinion_.premium-2D1.692273&d=BQMFaQ&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=_iuwmBDMEAIAz6k1h--JVoji6x5mlDiImSbbdIp2zWg&m=u24dL0zbgABF5hrKhhIlLorh8a-WTPYv0_Yu9-Qc-cM&s=WfYfhXXPgiRnPsD3Tw-x0EVJQo6Mzbz152fqUXkxZ00&e="
target="_blank">http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.692273</a>.]</div>
<div><br>
<br>
Breaking the Silence: Why Take the Message
Abroad?<br>
<br>
The left-wing NGO made up of former soldiers
found itself at the center of a public storm and
under ferocious attack from across the Israeli
political spectrum.<br>
<br>
</div>
by Ilan Lior<br>
<br>
<img moz-do-not-send="true"
style="margin-right:0px" title="Photo: AFP,
License: N/A2015-10-30"
src="http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.683289.1446206176%21/image/1192989788.jpg_gen/derivatives/headline_609x343/1192989788.jpg"
alt="" height="289" width="513"><strong><br>
Palestinians watching Israeli soldiers go by
near Hebron. <em>Credit: AFP<br>
<br>
<br>
</em></strong>"Why abroad?" was the most
persistent question members of Breaking the
Silence were asked this week in interviews, on
social media, and in personal messages. The small
NGO, more used to being sidelined, found itself at
the center of a public storm and under ferocious
attack.<br>
<br>
It was accused of slandering Israel around the
world and of damaging its international image. The
radical right-wing Im Tirtzu movement issued a
video accusing the activists of being "moles" â
agents for foreign states. That led to a spate of
curses and threats on the lives of the NGO's
activists, all former Israel Defense Forces
combatants.<br>
<br>
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted Breaking
the Silence in the Knesset for "spreading libel
about IDF soldiers in the world." Defense Minister
Moshe Ya'alon instructed the IDF not to cooperate
with the NGO, whose motives he said were
"malicious." and "blackens our soldiers' faces
abroad." Education Minister Naftali Bennett
forbade the group to enter schools. Even Yesh Atid
leader Yair Lapid attacked the NGO from the
opposition and said it "harms and sullies the IDF
abroad, spreading lies about our combatants."<br>
<br>
Breaking the Silence was set up 11 years ago by
combatants who served in Hebron. They recounted
their personal experiences from their service in
the West Bank and started to gather testimonies
from others about the violation of human rights
under the occupation. Today, the organization has
collected testimonies from more than 1,000
soldiers and has published them in the media, on
the Internet, in booklets and at events and
exhibitions.<br>
<br>
Today it employs 15 people, who all gave their own
testimonies, as well as dozens of volunteers. The
organization's staff guide Hebrew and English
tours in Hebron, take part in conferences, meet
youth and students and hold demonstrations.<br>
<br>
Over the past year, NGO have members met senior
White House officials for the first time. They
also took part in events in the United States,
Spain, The Netherlands and Scotland and held photo
exhibitions in Switzerland. Amidst the storm
raised by the group's activity, the NGO's founder,
Yehuda Shaul gave a lecture in Denmark. <strong><em><br>
</em></strong><br>
<img moz-do-not-send="true"
style="margin-right:0px" title="Photo: Reuters,
License: N/A2015-12-17"
src="http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.692519.1450389324%21/image/2278087116.jpg_gen/derivatives/headline_609x343/2278087116.jpg"
alt="A visitor takes a picture at the 'Breaking
the Silence' exhibition at the Kulturhaus
Helferei in Zurich June 8, 2015." height="289"
width="513"><strong><br>
A visitor takes a picture at the 'Breaking the
Silence' exhibition at the<br>
Kulturhaus Helferei in Zurich June 8, 2015. <em>Credit:
Reuters<br>
<br>
<br>
</em></strong>"The absolute majority â at
least 85 percent â of the organization's
activity takes place in Israel, in Hebrew, or with
Jews," says director Yuli Novak in an interview
with Haaretz. "We do a lot of work with Diaspora
Jews, mainly in Israel, with youngsters who come
in various groups and meet with us."<br>
<br>
As for the activity overseas, "the occupation
isn't an internal Israeli matter," says Novak, who
served as an Air Force officer. "The Israeli
occupation that we see as immensely damaging to
Israel, is maintained and supported abroad.
Millions of dollars, mostly tax money, are
invested in telling the world 'if you're for
Israel you're for the occupation.'"<br>
<br>
"We bring to this debate an Israeli, patriotic
voice that says 'we love Israel, but the
occupation harms it.' It's critical that the world
knows there are Israeli soldiers who think the
state's future depends on ending the occupation."<br>
<br>
Achiya Schatz, a former combatant in the Duvdevan
special operations unit, says, "People are
silenced and gagged in Israel. Anyone who opposes
the occupation is seen as a traitor."<br>
<br>
"When the settlers' Yesha Council speaks abroad
how come nobody criticizes it? It's sheer
hypocrisy. The attempt to divert the debate to
[our activity] abroad is government spin," he
says.<br>
<br>
The NGO's critics say it strengthens the BDS
movement. "We don't support BDS, we never
supported them or cooperated with them," Schatz
says.<br>
<br>
"Obviously Breaking the Silence statements raise
objection. When you see the unpleasant sight in
the mirror we put up, your first instinct is to
look aside," she says.<br>
<br>
But "Israel's problem is the occupation. What
makes Israel look bad is that for 48 years we've
been ruling another nation and not showing any
sign that we mean to change it â not soldiers
telling what the occupation looks like," she says.<br>
<br>
Novak says former combatants who have undergone
special training in gathering information take the
testimonies. Only those that are checked,
cross-checked with others and verified are
published. "No Breaking the Silence testimony has
ever been refuted," says Shatz.<br>
<br>
Novak refutes the claim that a Palestinian fund
gave the NGO more than a million shekels to
produce negative testimonies against the IDF. The
fund, he says, works from Ramallah, but belongs to
European states. "My work is not determined by the
donors' wishes," he says. "The organization's
activity is entirely open and transparent."<br>
<br>
The last few days have been especially difficult
for the NGO's people. Their email and Facebook
accounts and mobile phones were filled with death
threats and curses.<br>
<br>
"Some people fear for their life all the time. We
all have families and they're worried. It's
difficult, but the price of silence is too high,"
says Shatz.<br>
<br>
On the upside, the number of supporters and people
wanting to give testimony is also rising.<br>
<br>
"We're in the company of the state's president,
Supreme court judges and other figures the right
is trying to silence. So the attack isn't only us,
it's dangerous to Israel. We'd expect our
government and Knesset to stand by our side â
not because they agre with us, but because
democracy is crumbling," she says. <br>
<strong><em><br>
</em></strong></div>
<em>[Ilan Lior is a </em>Haaretz<em>
correspondent.]</em><span class="HOEnZb"><font
color="#888888"><strong><em><br>
</em></strong></font></span></div>
<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
</font></span></div>
<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888">
<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
<div>"Only when the last tree has died and the last
river been poisoned and the last fish been caught
will we realize we cannot eat money." --Nineteenth
century NÄhilawÄ (Cree) proverb</div>
</font></span></div>
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