A rare visitor called on Israeli society recently, and we almost didn’t notice. The visit occurred last month during the trial of an Israeli army officer who was charged with beating a Palestinian he was “questioning” in the West Bank village of Qadoum. The officer’s attorneys asked his brigade commander to testify in his defense, and the commander agreed. And as the commander proceeded to defend this officer and his right to beat Palestinians, the more sharp-eyed observers noticed that someone who has long been declared persona non grata by the Israeli military had slipped into the courtroom: the truth.
Colonel Itai Virob, a brigade commander in charge of hundreds of soldiers who spend their service facing a civilian population in the occupied territories, laid out his credo at the very beginning of his testimony. To his credit, he was sharp and clear and did not hide behind convoluted wording: “I think,” he said, “that the need to use violence in this sort of questioning is certainly reasonable.”
The use of violence is reasonable. The shirtsleeve of the truth about our army’s attitude toward the Palestinian population in the occupied territories peeked out from under Virob’s uniform. Under the cover of his colonel’s insignia, the truth managed to cross the separation fence, the seam zone and the Green Line until it landed in the military courthouse in Jaffa.
Then the truth went on and flowed uncontrollably out of Virob’s throat, without the perjuring mediation of the army spokesperson or military attorneys. The army’s practices were revealed layer by layer: Storming into a Palestinian village in jeeps, throwing stun grenades or bursting into houses — in order to “disturb the balance of the neighborhood, village or place” — is justified as a “disruption operation.” Discussing pressure methods, Virob acknowledged that “the vast majority is employed against uninvolved people.”
Virob’s testimony oozed with machismo. It seemed to say: This air-conditioned courtroom is not the place to judge the actions of our soldiers who are risking their lives. Virob could have been cast as Jack Nicholson’s tough American colonel character from the movie “A Few Good Men,” who is sure that pencil-pushing prosecutor Tom Cruise is not going to teach him when using violence is acceptable and when it is not.
“Is slapping the heads of Palestinians allowed or not?” the prosecutor asked, and Virob spilled the occupation’s contaminated truth: “A slap, sometimes a punch to the scruff of the neck or the chest, sometimes a knee jab or strangulation to calm somebody down is reasonable.” Exactly what human rights organizations have been reporting for years, exactly what thousands of physically and psychologically injured Palestinians have been crying out, exactly what defense ministers and chiefs of staff and military lawyers and senior officers have been denying dismissively, all singing the “most moral army in the world” anthem like a mantra.
The ugly, stinking, foul truth — an unwelcome tourist in the State of Israel — was straightforwardly spoken by the highest officer on the ground who is charged with educating his soldiers about what is permissible and impermissible. And the truth is that our soldiers are too often taught to treat Palestinians as sub-humans, with whom they should communicate by “slaps” and “punches” and “knee jabs,” as a species that must be trained by roaring jeeps that “disrupt the balance” of their lives. That is the new teaching of Israel.
In response to his testimony, Virob did receive a reprimand from the higher-ups. Inside his file was placed a “commander’s note.” A soldier who is insolent to his commander is grounded for the weekend. An officer who smokes a joint on leave is removed from his command. Virob claims it is okay to hit Palestinians and throw stun grenades to “disrupt” the life of the village, and he received a “commander’s note.” This reaction can only be understood by young soldiers as a wink.
Colonel Virob gave his 18-year-old soldiers the powers that the Israeli High Court of Justice took away from the General Security Service — to physically abuse innocent Palestinians in order to obtain information. And the sky didn’t fall, and the nation that gave humanity the “Golden Rule” did not ask God’s forgiveness. The Jewish people are still waiting for Tom Cruise’s cross-examination, and until he comes and the policeman stationed in the court is ordered to arrest Virob, what Nicholson said to Cruise applies to us: “You can’t handle the truth.”
Michael Sfard is legal adviser to Yesh Din: Volunteers for Human Rights.
For a detailed treatment of soldier violence see the recent report, "No Defense" by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, (PCATI)
Essentially, what Adv. Michael Sfard is telling Forward readers is that torture and ill treatment remain a serious problem in Israel and that Israeli security officials, in the army, in the GSS (General Security Service), in the Attorney General's office remain un-offended by this grossly illegal practice and continue to facilitate and condone it while spreading Israel's canopy of impunity above those who practice it. (See for example a recent report on Israel by the UN Committee Against Torture).
In 1999 Israel's High Court of Justice ruled on torture in Israel. The Judgment, as important as it was, failed to lead to the absolute prohibition of torture in Israel. Torture and ill treatment continue both in the interrogation room by the GSS and in the field, by soldiers as they arrest Palestinian security suspects. Michael Sfard's comments point out the unfortunate truth that PCATI in Israel has been working against and reporting on for close to two decades. Torture exists in Israel and it is condoned by the State. PCATI and other NGOs have submitted hundreds of complaints over this decade, providing clear evidence of physical and psychological violence against detainees, yet the State has found no reason to open a criminal investigation... Not once.
When a military commander admits that violence is a regular practice it is not news. Neither should we be surprised that he was essentially reprimanded, not for the violence but for telling the truth. When human rights are the subject in Israel we continue to find that, be it torture and ill treatment, the separation wall, settlements etc. impunity is the rule and the truth is our sacrificial lambs.
Louis Frankenthaler Development & International Outreach Director Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
TO Link to "No Defense" http://www.stoptorture.org.il/en/node/1136
What an important article! The continued practice of torture in Israel is something we must confront and must end. Too often, we hide behind the 1999 decision by the Israeli High Court. Like so many other decisions of the Israeli High Court in regard to Palestinians, the rulings are often ignored.
The continued use of torture by Israel is something we like to sweep under the rug. Thank you to Michael, to Yesh Din, to Louis and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, for their commitment to bring the continued use of torture to light and for their efforts to end this outrageous practice. Here in the U.S., a high level interfaith delegation will be holding a public event today followed by a meeting with Administration officials at the White House, to urge the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the use of torture by the U.S. We believe that full accountability and the incorporation of President Obama's Executive Order into law is the only way to ensure that torture ends in our country.
Honor the Image of God: End Torture Now, in the U.S., in Israel and througout the world!
As an Irish girl i read this article with sadness and also with familiarity. After enduring 800years of British occupation and torture the Irish people can only look on in horror as the world turns a blind eye to the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Oh come on! Enough of the anti-Israel leftists' crocodile tears for the "suffering" so-called "palestinian" terrorists! Israel is the most civilized country in the world. It is absurd to call the conduct you describe "torture". Of course "the use of violence is reasonable" in obtaining information on terrorists. It is mild compared to what generally occurs in war, and lets not pretend these terrorists are "innocent" or "civilians"; this is a war on terror. In most countries, and certainly in every arab one, real torture is practiced and the terrorists are put to death.
For the vast majority of "palestian" arabs in the "West Bank", life is not only much better than in neighboring arab countries (aside from having to live in a muslim arab culture), in reality their life is good.
To quote Mahmoud Abbas, the Holocaust denying terrorist "president" of the putative palestinian arabs:
...
"In the West Bank We Have a Good Reality ... the people are living a normal life." (Mahmoud Abbas)
...
To the anti-Israel propagandists: There's your "ugly, stinking, foul truth". (A rather venomous hysterical description of the Jewish State of Israel by a "legal advisor", albeit to a virulent anti-Israel propaganda NGO.)
It exposes you as "ugly, stinking, foul" anti-Israel propagandists.
To the "Jewish" Forward: Why the barrage of anti-Israel propaganda? Where are your stories of real "torture", real atrocities, which the arab "palestinians" in Gaza have been inflicting on their own people? Severely torturing them to death in torture centers - putting their eyes out - shooting them in their legs - breaking their hands - throwing them off roof-tops - murdering whole families. Their crimes? Smiling in public. Being members of Fatah.
But to be fair, Fatah (Mahmoud Abbas' terrorist party) is just as bad, and also in the torture business. When Hamas took over Gaza, they opened a former Fatah torture chamber as a museum for visits by the public. This also goes on in the West Bank by Fatah. But one of the interesting things about Fatah is they make videos of some of their torture sessions (this is pretty mild stuff compared to what the arabs usually do):
http://pedulipalestina.blogspot.com/2007/07/fatah-torture-video.html
Since the Forward is appalled by "torture", why the bogus hit-piece on Israel, instead of some real outrages by Israel's enemies? Where is your interest in the real "truth"? Aren't there any pro-Israel, anti-terrorist articles to print?
To Forward readers: In case you hadn't guessed, "Yesh Din", the sponsor of this article, is a far-left anti-Israel propagandist, funded by a group that has been funding far-left and extreme Israeli Arab groups that work to defame Israel as an 'apartheid state' in the international arena and to undermine Israel as a Jewish state.
The author, Sfard, is an extremist anti-Israel activist, who has represented Norman Finkelstein (author of the "The Holocaust Industry" when he was refused entry to Israel), and has engaged in bizarre foreign lawsuits against Israel in what is known as "lawfare": The exploitation of courts in democratic countries in order to harass Israeli officials with civil lawsuits and criminal investigations for "war crimes," "crimes against humanity," and other alleged violations of international law: http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/al_haq_supported_lawfare_in_canada
To the Forward: What is your excuse for seeking out the most extreme leftist anti-Israel propaganda? Where are your stories about the plight of the Jews of Israel, the successes and triumphs of the Jews of Israel, all of what is wonderful and good about the Jews of Israel, the dangers and threats, both foreign and domestic, facing the Jewish State of Israel? Why print virulent anti-Israel, antisemitic vile and vitriolic propaganda? Or, why not go all the way, and publish stories by David Duke, or Mr. Sfard's clients such as Norman Finkelstein? And if that is your true mission, to be an enemy of Israel, why not be honest about it? Why not then face the "ugly, stinking, foul" truth? Please, just don't use the word "Jewish" in your name. Call yourself "The Anti-Israel Leftist Anti-Jewish Forward".
The "Jewish" Forward publishes extreme far-left anti-Israel propaganda that rivals Joseph Goebbles.
Then the virulent far-left anti-Israel faux "Jews", and worse yet, faux "Rabbis", join in the libels. Let's be clear: A "Jew' who hates Israel is an anti-Semite. A Jew who tries to smear Israel is an "ugly, stinking, foul" enemy of the Jewish people.
For those who want a bit more insight: ...
"Bogus 'Zionist' Israel-bashers It is ironic that many of the disconcerting themes relating to Israel in US President Barack Obama's Cairo speech replicated those widely promoted for months by a noisy minority of radical American Jews. These "Israel bashers" now proudly proclaim that the new language being employed by Obama "echoes the vocabulary we use." On the eve of Binyamin Netanyahu's arrival in Washington, a full page advertisement inserted by the Israel Policy Forum (IPF) appeared in The New York Times. Instead of the customary welcome message to a visiting prime minister or expressions of solidarity, it urged Obama to press Israel to make further unilateral concessions to the Palestinians, assuring him that in the event of a confrontation, he would enjoy the backing of most American Jews because "they are not Israelis living in exile." IPF's Washington director, M.J Rosenberg, issued a call to neutralize "the minority of Jews falsely" purporting to present the Jewish community as "blind supporters" of the Israeli government. Israel Policy Forum is only one of a cluster of radical left-wing organizations that have the chutzpa to describe themselves as lovers of Israel and even "Zionists," while actively lobbying the Obama administration to pressure Israel. They deviously sugarcoat their anti-Israeli campaigns by comparing themselves to parents whose children are drug addicts requiring "tough love" to force them to change their dangerous habits.These sentiments were effectively replicated in Obama's Cairo speech.
They were joined in April last year by J Street, a new group initially funded by the Jewish tycoon George Soros who had achieved notoriety for demonizing successive Israeli governments irrespective of their political leanings.
J Street and another radical group, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, proudly announced that they had succeeded in persuading 11,000 of their members to bombard the White House with e-mails urging Obama to stand firm against Netanyahu.
During the Gaza offensive, J Street condemned the action against Hamas as "disproportionate." Refusing to "pick a side" and identify "who was right and who was wrong," it applied moral equivalency to both parties proclaiming that "we recognize that neither Israelis nor Palestinians have a monopoly on right and wrong... While there is nothing 'right' in raining rockets on Israeli families or dispatching suicide bombers, there is nothing 'right' in punishing a million and a half already suffering Gazans for the actions of the extremists amongst them." J Street also opposes Israel's efforts to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. Despite the fact that Israelis of all political opinions are united on this issue, J Street members were e-mailed and urged to actively lobby against a bipartisan congressional resolution calling for tougher sanctions to be applied against Iran.
The radical groups also resurrected the bogus anti-Semitic charge of "dual loyalties," warning Jews that by continued "blind" support of Israel, they risked alienating the American public and would be condemned for displaying greater loyalty toward Israel than the US. They were almost hysterical in their condemnation of Jews who exercised their rights to protest against the proposed appointment of the fiercely anti-Israel Charles Freeman to head the National Security Agency. IPF spokesmen went so far as to explicitly state that being an anti-Israeli fanatic was insufficient grounds for barring a person from assuming a senior administration role. If there was any doubt about J Street, its endorsement of the British anti-Semitic play Seven Jewish Children, effectively a contemporary blood libel, placed it squarely in the camp of those seeking to demonize the Jewish state. It justified its support on the grounds that the play would promote "rigorous intellectual engagement and civil debate on which our community prides itself." J Street and IPF also seek to slander and undermine AIPAC, the highly effective pro-Israel lobby group, depicting it as an extreme right-wing and hawkish body although it has consistently promoted the policies of all Israeli governments, including the dovish administrations preceding Netanyahu. In an environment in which global anti-Semitism and demonization of Israel are beginning to make inroads into the United States, the potential of such radical groups to destabilize the standing of Israel should not be underestimated.
Never before has the Jewish community faced a situation in which organizations presenting themselves as Zionists shamelessly lobby their president to pressure the democratically elected government of the Jewish state to make concessions which could have life and death implications for its citizens.
Not that anti-Jewish Jews are a new phenomenon. Jewish communists were bitterly opposed to the campaign to liberate Soviet Jewry and defended state-sponsored anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union. But they were marginalized and regarded as pariahs by the Jewish community.
The problem in the US is that the established Jewish leaders decided to ignore these organizations, mistakenly believing that confrontations would be construed as attempts to restrict freedom of expression and would transform the radicals into martyrs.
But the issue of freedom of expression is a red herring. Any Jew is entitled to express his beliefs, no matter how nauseating or deviant such views may appear to the majority. That certainly applies to those arguing in favor or in opposition to settlements. Surely the red lines are being crossed when, as distinct from expressing views, American based organizations claiming to "love" Israel aggressively lobby the US government to pressure it to make concessions that could place lives at risk. To tolerate such groups within the framework of the Jewish community provides them with an aura of respectability to which they are not entitled. Alas, today some of these groups already attend administration briefings on a par with the recognized mainstream organizations. Furthermore, failure to confront these Israel bashers has already provided the general media with grounds to suggest that American Jewish support of Israel is collapsing. That has certainly encouraged the Obama administration to intensify its pressure on the Netanyahu government. It may also cause some weak-kneed Jews to distance themselves from Israel to avoid confronting a popular American president. There are even ominous mutterings predicting a possible replay of what transpired during World War II, when fearing a confrontation and bedazzled by president Franklin Roosevelt, Jewish leaders lacked the courage to protest against the indifference of the US government to the Nazi extermination of the Jews. Now, as never before, when the beleaguered State of Israel confronts Iran, potentially one of the greatest existential threats since its creation, the support of American Jews is crucial. A united Jewish community should marginalize the anti-Israeli radicals and urge Obama (who received 80 percent of its votes) to stand by commitments made to Israel by previous US administrations in the same manner as the Netanyahu government is obliged to adhere to undertakings made by previous Israeli governments. A strong Jewish stand in this direction could effectively tip the balance in averting a catastrophic major rift between the US and Israel. ileibler@netvision.net.il This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post
Frank,
The arguments that you are using to justify the torture of Palestinians are the very same argument that the Nazis, and all the other anti-Semites, used to justify the torture and killing of Jews.
Well said Norman. Shame on you Frank. The never again applies to all people of all races and religions. One can never justify torture. Michael Sward is a brilliant lawyer and I wish he would write more in Forward.
Have just come across the article by extremist lawyer Michael Sfard on Israel's alleged rough-handling of Palestinian suspects connected with terrorism. Frankly, I find his comments puerile, disingenuous and self-serving.
In my country - the United Kingdom - MI-5 regularly manhandles terrorist suspects and the British public is highly supportive. Particularly against Muslim fanatics. In Northern Ireland, our security services in the 1980s crushed the legs of several IRA terrorist suspects to protect the British Isles against pending bombings. When the IRA booby-trapped Margaret Thatcher's London hotel bathroom, narrowly missing their target, our police forces broke the limbs of the IRA suspects until they confessed to who were responsible.
The bottom line is this: when you are at war, a democratic state invokes the legal authorities available to it under the Geneva Conventions which permit extraordinary suspension of civil liberties to protect democracy. Michael Sfard earns his living defending Palestinian terrorists and their supporters. Nothing he writes or says against Israel can be admitted as the truth. In fact it is the very opposite. Shame on the Forward for publicizing this young reprobate's propaganda.
Hi Deborah, I see your point but the UK is not occupying any country if I am correct and the Muslims there are not fighting for anything but their "mean" Allah or a fake prophet hidden in some caves... A palestinian terrorist will always be considered by the most reasonable palestinians as a freedom fighter until they get what the international community promised them a long time ago. They are fighting to get their land back.
Shamir's comments reveal an unfamiliarity with international affairs. As Deborah Fink has so well illustrated, Britain occupies Northern Ireland as well as Afghanistan. Throw in Gibraltar and the Falklands too. Plus, as we have seen with Gaza, an occupying power doesn't necessarily have to have boots on the ground to occupy another country. Thus, Britain is still an imperialist country for economically and culturally occupying some 58 countries in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. Secondly, the Palestinians have their own land in 3 places - Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank. They mustn't be so greedy as to deprive the Israeli Jews of their 1 tiny land. That's why I find Michael Sfard a litle over the top - imagine catering to the territorial expansion fantasies of these ungrateful people.
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