Month: March 2009 (Page 2 of 3)

Yesterday Ha’aretz published a story about testimony of IDF soldiers on the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory course at the Oranim Academic College in Kiryat Tivon.

The course head, Dani Zamir, published conversations in a course newsletter. The testimony purports to be that of a group therapy session where three IDF soldiers related incidents in which civilians were killed by snipers and of wanton destruction of property.

In fact, the actual stories are extremely disturbing. An old woman killed, apparently because she strayed into a fire zone; others killed because they took a wrong turn after being evacuated by the IDF and snipers had been instructed to kill anything  that moved. 

The world’s press has obviously homed in on these stories and the BBC was not slow to comment. However, it must be said, the story was not headlined by the BBC and their reaction was somewhat muted. They did manage to try to suggest that this was a religious war by quoting some rabbis who were involved. Somewhat ironic when it is the other side who are actually conducting a religious war when it’s supposed to be a territorial one.

The anti-Zionists and the Jew-haters will of course say ‘I told you so’ about these reports, and this will confirm them in their beliefs and be used to justify their hatred.

There have, however, been doubts cast on the stories because Zamir has a long history of left-wing agitation and views. Furthermore, those giving testimony may not have witnessed these events but were only reporting heresay. One of the soldiers wasn’t even in Gaza, apparently.

We await the IDF internal investigations. Ha’aretz says it has more to expose.

But let me be quite clear on this: we who support Israel must not try to find excuses or escape into denial. If crimes have been committed the perpetrators must be punished. Any nation claiming to be civilised, especially one that claims to have the most moral army in the world, must investigate, publish and take any necessary action, however painful. It was interesting to read some of the comments posted on the yNet website. So many said that Israel should not was its dirty linen in public and give succour to the enemy.  There is an understandable view in some sections of the Israeli public, and certainly in the Diaspora, that Jews should never criticise Israel because it has plenty of detractors. As Herb Keinon wryly writes in the Jerusalem Post  “The whole world is against us, goes an old Jewish joke, and now we’ve joined in.” It’s this ability for Jews to search their conscience that separates then from many of their enemies.

There have been various stories and reports about abuses, atrocities and petty vandalism since the IDF operation began. The Jewish Chronicle on the 6th March had a piece headlined ‘I don’t feel bad about what we did’. It interviewed six soldiers. The last two soldiers, Arik Dubonov and Amir Marmor expressed reservations:

From the first briefings before going in, it was clear that the army had changed its entire mindset. Instead of getting the usual precautions on not harming civilians, we were told about the need to make a very aggressive entry. We were told ‘any sign of danger, open up with massive fire.’…

Some of us were very uncomfortable with these orders… (Dubonov)

… to me it was like a punishment exercise.. from the enormous extent of the destruction. We were there for a week and despite the fact that no-one fired on us, the firing and the demolitions continued incessantly. (Marmor)

The other soldiers interviewed had a different story but still did not make comfortable reading. Different experiences at different stages and areas of the conflict.

I have never fought as a soldier. I doubt many soldiers have fought under the conditions the IDF fought under. Clearly, the tactic was to go in hard in order to save Israeli soldiers lives against an enemy that had promised much but delivered little. The IDF could not allow Hamas any scope to operate. To achieve this aim against an enemy that hid in hospitals, mosques and schools, that popped out of tunnels in houses and booby-trapped residential buildings, was not going to be anything but a dirty war with civilians in the middle. Despite this, the IDF policy was to do as much as it could to avoid civilian casualties. That may seem ironic in light of the allegations, but it is, nonetheless, the truth. If their was a failure or the rules of engagement were too loose, as some have suggested, that does not mean that every action was reckless or worse.

Israel should carefully examine its tactics: did its forces need to destroy houses just to create sight lines? Is the policy of disproportionate response (Olmert’s words, not mine) justified?  Are all its forces and their commanders properly trained to respect civilian property, let alone their lives? 

So far nothing is proved; no investigations completed, no recommendations made, no prosecutions begun. I can wait. But I also want to see Israel facing up to its responsibilities: no cover-ups, no automatic denials.

I believe Israel is a highly moral country. The debate raging in Israel over these latest reports, the debate which has always raged about its treatment of the Palestinians, its war ethics, its defence policies and tactics, all these are signs of a healthy democracy. No such debate, no such self-examination, no such remorse or self-doubt would enter the minds of Israel’s enemies. 

The anti-Semites and Jew-haters may have their chance to gloat, but that should not weaken the resolve of those who know that Israel faces an increasing existential threat and needs our support more than ever. But that support will be weakened if Israel is not seen by those very supporters to do the right thing: thoroughly investigate ALL allegations from whatever quarter and take any necessary action.