[Peace-discuss] Israel: 'Breaking the Silence' under Siege - Haaretz
Stuart Levy
stuartnlevy at gmail.com
Fri Dec 18 13:29:34 EST 2015
(thanks to United for Peace and Justice)
On Fri, Dec 18, 2015 at 12:11 PM, Bill Koehnlein <bill at toplab.org
<mailto:bill at toplab.org>> wrote:
Israel: Breaking the Silence under Siege
Haaretz
December 18, 2015
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.692518
<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=>
[See also the accompanying articles: "Hooray for the Snitches of
Breaking the Silence
<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=>"
at http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.692275
<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=>;
"Israel's Anti-Occupation Soldiers Are Putting Their Necks on the
Line
<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=>"
at http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.692012
<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=>;
and "Im Tirtzu and the Proto-Fascist Plot to Destroy Israeli
Democracy
<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=>"
at http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.692273
<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=>.]
Breaking the Silence: Why Take the Message Abroad?
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.
by Ilan Lior
*
Palestinians watching Israeli soldiers go by near Hebron. /Credit: AFP
/*"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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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. */
/*
A visitor takes a picture at the 'Breaking the Silence' exhibition
at the Kulturhaus Helferei in Zurich June 8, 2015.*
A visitor takes a picture at the 'Breaking the Silence' exhibition
at the
Kulturhaus Helferei in Zurich June 8, 2015. /Credit: Reuters
/*"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."
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.'"
"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."
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."
"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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
"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.
On the upside, the number of supporters and people wanting to give
testimony is also rising.
"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.
*/
/*
/[Ilan Lior is a /Haaretz/correspondent.]/*/
/*
--
"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
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