Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., July 15, 2009 Tamuz 23, 5769 | | Israel Time: 15:21 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Maccabiah Travel Week's End Anglo File
Share |
Last update - 18:01 19/03/2009
ANALYSIS / Can Israel dismiss its own troops' stories from Gaza?
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Civilians, Gaza, Israel News 

The statements of the Israel Defense Forces soldiers from the Yitzhak Rabin preparatory course provide the first, uncensored look at what occurred in some of the combat units in Operation Cast Lead.

It seems that what soldiers have to say is actually the way things happened in the field, most of the time. And as usual, reality is completely different from the gentler version provided by the military commanders to the public and media during the operation and after.

The soldiers are not lying, for the simple reason that they have no reason to. If you read the transcript that will appear in Haaretz Friday, you will not find any judgment or boasting. This is what the soldiers, from their point of view, saw in Gaza. There is a continuity of testimony from different sectors that reflects a disturbing and depressing picture.
Advertisement

The IDF will do everyone, and most of all itself, a big favor if it takes these soldiers and allegations seriously and investigates itself in depth. When statements came only from Palestinian witnesses or "the hostile press," it was possible to dismiss them as propaganda that served the enemy. But what can be done when the soldiers themselves tell the story?

It's possible that somewhere in the stories there were a few mistakes or exaggerations, because a squad or platoon leader does not always see the entire picture. But this is evidence, first hand, of what most Israelis would prefer to repress. This is how the army carried out its war against armed terrorists, with a civilian population of a million and a half people stuck in the middle.

In response to a question from Haaretz Wednesday, Danny Zamir, the head of the preparatory course, said he had decided to publish the discussion in the newsletter only after speaking with and writing to senior IDF officers a number of times. Zamir was told by General Staff officers that the operational inquiries into the fighting in Gaza, including the ethical inquiry, were still far from completion. The officers also said they had not encountered evidence of incidents of the type the soldiers described.

If the IDF really never heard about these incidents, the reasonable assumption is that it did not want to know. The soldiers describe the reality in combat units, from the level of company commander down. In the debriefings, the participants usually include company commanders up. It seems that except for isolated incidents, the rule is "you don't ask, we won't tell."

The ones who finally let the dark secrets out were the soldiers in the combat units themselves. Somewhere along the way their moral warning lights went off.

In the coming days, in an effort to rebuff the claims, we will certainly hear about those who "pulled one over" on Zamir. In 1990, as a company commander in the reserves, Zamir was tried and sentenced to prison for refusing to guard a ceremony where right-wingers brought Torah scrolls to Joseph's Tomb in Nablus. But even though Zamir does not hide his political opinions, a reading of the transcript shows he acts out of a deep concern for the spirit of the IDF.

The IDF's ethical problems did not start in 2009. Such discussions also followed the Six-Day War. But a reserve officer who looked at the transcript Wednesday said: "This is not the IDF we knew."

The descriptions show that Israel's view of the enemy is becoming more extreme. The deterioration has been continuous - from the first Lebanon war to the second, from the first intifada to the second, from Operation Defensive Shield to Operation Cast Lead.


Related articles:
  • IDF killed civilians in Gaza under lax rules of engagement
  • IDF reservist refuses to fight in Gaza over civilian deaths
  • Barak: Gaza invasion won't be short, and it won't be easy
    • PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
    Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Sexy gum for Gaza
    Chew on this: Hamas accuses Israel of supplying aphrodisiac gum to corrupt its youth.
    Settlement PR
    America's best Jewish minds are wracking their brains to improve image of settlements.
      1.   "Israel`s" view of the enemy is "extremely" 03:30  |  Geoff 19/03/09
      2.   War is hell! So what else is new? 05:13  |  MARK KLEIN, M.D. 19/03/09
      3.   bias 05:19  |  avi 19/03/09
      4.   Analyzing the soldiers statements 05:46  |  Jon 19/03/09
      5.   View of the enemy should be even more extreme 05:58  |  McQueen 19/03/09
      6.   Soldiers are in quest of publicity like the rst of you 07:26  |  Jebei Noyon 19/03/09
      7.   To answer the question... 07:46  |  Colin Wright 19/03/09
      8.   Watch the apologists come out in droves 07:57  |  David 19/03/09
      9.   No, not this time 07:58  |  sh 19/03/09
      10.   Amos- usual agenda driven news & analysis 07:59  |  Roger 19/03/09
      11.   lets be honest -there`s no difference between hamas and civilians 08:25  |  don 19/03/09
      12.   fingers in ears 09:28  |  t 19/03/09
      13.   Moral standards 09:31  |  Joe W 19/03/09
      14.   We hear it, we can face and acknowledge it 09:38  |  Sceptic 19/03/09
      15.   We hear it, we can face and acknowledge it 09:39  |  Sceptic 19/03/09
      16.   Expert in blood mathematics Durson 10:29  |  Sceptic 19/03/09
      17.   Expert in blood mathematics Durson 10:29  |  Sceptic 19/03/09
      18.   Amos Harel asks a very silly question.... 10:33  |  Johnboy 19/03/09
      19.   Don, how about Jews who voted for 10:38  |  Canadian 19/03/09
      20.   Why does Hess Ignore Hamas War Crimes 11:01  |  Joseph 19/03/09
      21.   don, you are wrong 11:17  |  bashar 19/03/09
      22.   The most moral army? 11:31  |  Ussishkin 19/03/09
      23.   I heard first hand very different stories and I am not alone. 11:45  |  JO 19/03/09
      24.   War in Gaza 11:46  |  Steve A 19/03/09
      25.   its important for israelis and palestinians 11:52  |  cfs 19/03/09
      26.   Don # 2 11:55  |  Kameel 19/03/09
      27.   Sorry, Sceptic 12:11  |  Murray 19/03/09
      28.   2: Don, that`s like saying that every American 12:11  |  Stephen 19/03/09
      29.   War is hell. Shit happens. 12:33  |  Erastus CoupeDeVille 19/03/09
      30.   well done Don 12:44  |  chris 19/03/09
      31.   What Amos Harel wants to forget 13:07  |  Yonatan 19/03/09
      32.   Amos Harel: Did you hear the soldiers yourself? 13:32  |  Ex-Leftist 19/03/09
      33.   Did Amira Hass ask Hamas to explain use of human shields? 14:08  |  arthur 19/03/09
      34.   Too right David from Boston. 15:50  |  Phil Craig 19/03/09
      35.   Ceartainly - and it will 16:33  |  Mark Lincoln 19/03/09
      36.   THE BRAVEST ARMY EVER EXISTED 16:37  |  indrajaya 19/03/09
      37.   # 8, DAVID 16:43  |  indrajaya 19/03/09
      38.   Name-calling 16:45  |  Matthew Houston 19/03/09
      39.   Army of all citizens has many helplessly 16:46  |  TOMY 19/03/09
      40.   Self ignorant fools 16:47  |  Matty Groves 19/03/09
      41.   IDF compared to other armies 16:53  |  Sasha 19/03/09
      42.   AND THE ANSWER IS: NO! 17:49  |  Ed 19/03/09
      43.   Corrupt Army`s Loose Wars 19:53  |  Ayan 19/03/09
      44.   Facts and fiction @19 20:02  |  Sar Chasm 19/03/09
      45.   self-hatred 20:11  |  Alain 19/03/09
      46.   unfortunately .......... 20:16  |  flimflam 19/03/09
      47.   #9, sh 20:24  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 19/03/09
      48.   Killing "civilians" 20:24  |  Michael Greenberg 19/03/09
      49.   Don`t forget: 01:02  |  Jon 20/03/09
      50.   the core 02:07  |  Anwar 20/03/09
      51.   @ Alain 02:16  |  Jim 20/03/09
      52.   No Matthew,It is not "name calling"..IT IS HIS NAME AFTER ALL.SO? 02:19  |  Whiskey 20/03/09
      53.   Leftists Attack Israel 03:51  |  Michael 20/03/09
      54.   Jim every freedom loving human should condemn Hamas attrocites 04:10  |  Real 20/03/09
      55.   Its a sear campaign, right? 05:33  |  maoriboy 20/03/09
      56.   # 13 Joe W re Moral standards 09:58  |  Traude 20/03/09
      57.   To Alain @45 From yesterday..Read if Haaretz pleases? 01:54  |  Whiskey 21/03/09
      58.   Soldiers state 16:25  |  M.A 21/03/09
      59.   Can Israel dismiss its own troops` stories? 23:29  |  The Teacher/Instruct 21/03/09
      60.   Can israel dismiss . . .??? 06:14  |  mark aleshnick 22/03/09
      61.   #8 David,, injarta , others 09:01  |  moshe 23/03/09
      62.   mark klein 2 23:45  |  potobac 23/03/09
      63.   Moral Standards 08:14  |  Mike 24/03/09
      64.   what do you expect- it is so obvious 21:44  |  Laura 24/03/09
      65.   Mark Klein ...M.D.? 17:37  |  Shai 25/03/09
      66.   Re: Can Israel dismiss its own troops` stories from Gaza? 06:45  |  Jp 21/05/09
      67.   Re: Can Israel dismiss its own troops` stories from Gaza? 06:54  |  JP 21/05/09
      68.   We hear it, we can face and acknowledge it 2 14:53  |  dominique 15/07/09
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    hotel Jerusalem
    David Citadel Hotel, come stay at the finest of Jerusalem hotels.
    ISRAEL ARMY SURPLUS STORE
    IDF insignia,Uniforms, Paladium Boots Watches, Israel Army T-shirts & Collectibles
    Dead Sea Skin Care
    Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    More Headlines
    13:21 Iran plane crash: 168 on board feared dead
    13:16 Farmer cleared of manslaughter in death of Bedouin intruder
    14:42 Barak: Criticism of IDF should be directed at me
    14:16 U.K. upholds ban on 'misleading' Israel tourism ad
    14:24 Palestinians ban Al-Jazeera for airing Arafat conspiracy allegations
    13:28 La Scala brings Verdi's Requiem to Tel Aviv - for free
    12:10 Yad Vashem bows to Dutch survivors, honors righteous gentiles
    00:15 WATCH: Daily news round-up from Israel
    15:15 Arab man arrested in Jerusalem on suspicion of posing as IDF soldier
    10:50 IMF: Israel must ease restrictions further to boost West Bank economy
    09:46 Obama: Iran protests could hinder nuclear talks
    11:04 Head of correctional facility jailed for abusive conduct
    02:55 Did an Israeli anesthetic cause Michael Jackson's death?
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
    | Israel 2009 election results | Makom: Engaging on Israel
    | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved