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eumeliaI've been reading the current Ha'aretz, and there are three specific article regarding the IDF that I found very interesting, though not particularly surprising.
You see, the IDF really prides itself with being a People's Army in a Democratic State, an Ethical and Moral Army. As such is of course willing to be put under the harsh scrutiny of the "Free Press"(1).
The IDF censor has obviously approved the following article - IDF killed civilians in Gaza under loose rules of engagement - in which it says:
I am impressed that this is seeing daylight.
Really I am.
I mean, the testimonies one can read at Breaking the Silence are constantly undermined and not taken seriously.
So to see actual testimony about the fact that the IDF was not what it claimed to be on the ground is really refreshing.
This of course doesn't go unnoticed and the analysis, a companion piece to the testimony above, is not particularly deep, but shows an interesting perspective on the issue of soldiers speaking out about the, shall we say, oversights.
They have no reason to lie?
I don't know about that, despite that what they may have to say goes beyond reflecting "a disturbing and depressing picture". I'd say that their testimony may say that the IDF did bad things.
But what the commentators on said testimonies will say is that it served a greater picture... this article is already doing so:
Emphasis mine.
And indeed the repression will continue without so much of a petition against violence towards civilians.
Why?
Because this is a confession spectacle.
Bad things happen and there is a need for them to be purged and once they're out in the open... what happens?
Do they disappear? Arguably yes, because when you confess, you want to be forgiven. And we are so very good at forgiving (and forgetting) our own sins.
These testaments are True because they were witnessed by Good Soldiers who did Bad Things.
Any testimony spoken by a Palestinian is dismissed:
Our own propaganda of suffering will continue to blind us to the fact that this didn't occur in a vacuum. Which every one known, but no one counts.
The same issue in which these two articles appear, another, so called, optimistic article appeared. Showing the positive side of Operation Cast Lead (OCL).
Breaking the Mud Ceiling. Apparently, OCL was a land mark in Women's inclusion in the battle field!
Now, from a purely Liberal Feminist point of view this is a good thing, the equalisation of women in the IDF should promote equalisation in civilian life(2).
Here's what the article has to say:
Emphasis mine.
Yup, assimilation into a militaristic mind set in which you conform (willingly, of course) to ideals of power through violence and in which you only got the job because not enough boys are willing to "tinker".
I'm feeling the equality.
Or not:
The spirit of Feminism.
Gotta love the regular every day sexism, though.
As for what they saw in Gaza (like the soldiers testimony above)... not much, apparently:
Amazing what they put together in one Newspaper.
Notes
(1) This "Free Press" writes articles about the censorship it undergoes through the IDF censor: This article has been approved by the censor.
(2) Though I think we all know that this is really not the case, seeing as the power a women soldier has in her unit does not get translated into civilian life. Not to mention that as long as boys serve more time than girls and that jobs continue to be gendered... the IDF really isn't a platform for equalisation.
You see, the IDF really prides itself with being a People's Army in a Democratic State, an Ethical and Moral Army. As such is of course willing to be put under the harsh scrutiny of the "Free Press"(1).
The IDF censor has obviously approved the following article - IDF killed civilians in Gaza under loose rules of engagement - in which it says:
During Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property, say soldiers who fought in the offensive.
[...]
Their testimony runs counter to the Israel Defense Forces' claims that Israeli troops observed a high level of moral behavior during the operation.
[...]
The testimonies include a description by an infantry squad leader of an incident where an IDF sharpshooter mistakenly shot a Palestinian mother and her two children. "There was a house with a family inside .... We put them in a room. Later we left the house and another platoon entered it, and a few days after that there was an order to release the family. They had set up positions upstairs. There was a sniper position on the roof," the soldier said[...]
I am impressed that this is seeing daylight.
Really I am.
I mean, the testimonies one can read at Breaking the Silence are constantly undermined and not taken seriously.
So to see actual testimony about the fact that the IDF was not what it claimed to be on the ground is really refreshing.
This of course doesn't go unnoticed and the analysis, a companion piece to the testimony above, is not particularly deep, but shows an interesting perspective on the issue of soldiers speaking out about the, shall we say, oversights.
ANALYSIS / Can Israel dismiss its own troops' stories from Gaza?
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.
[...]
They have no reason to lie?
I don't know about that, despite that what they may have to say goes beyond reflecting "a disturbing and depressing picture". I'd say that their testimony may say that the IDF did bad things.
But what the commentators on said testimonies will say is that it served a greater picture... this article is already doing so:
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[...]
Emphasis mine.
And indeed the repression will continue without so much of a petition against violence towards civilians.
Why?
Because this is a confession spectacle.
Bad things happen and there is a need for them to be purged and once they're out in the open... what happens?
Do they disappear? Arguably yes, because when you confess, you want to be forgiven. And we are so very good at forgiving (and forgetting) our own sins.
These testaments are True because they were witnessed by Good Soldiers who did Bad Things.
Any testimony spoken by a Palestinian is dismissed:
When statements came only from Palestinian witnesses or "the hostile press," it was possible to dismiss them as propaganda that served the enemy.
Our own propaganda of suffering will continue to blind us to the fact that this didn't occur in a vacuum. Which every one known, but no one counts.
The same issue in which these two articles appear, another, so called, optimistic article appeared. Showing the positive side of Operation Cast Lead (OCL).
Breaking the Mud Ceiling. Apparently, OCL was a land mark in Women's inclusion in the battle field!
Now, from a purely Liberal Feminist point of view this is a good thing, the equalisation of women in the IDF should promote equalisation in civilian life(2).
Here's what the article has to say:
Without our noticing, in the middle of Operation Cast Lead a milestone was passed in the integration of women into combat in the Israel Defense Forces. The Gaza war was not the first in which female officers and soldiers were present on the battlefield. It happened during the Second Lebanon War[...]
This meant that if all those with a certain job are supposed to accompany the combat forces into the Gaza Strip, gender became irrelevant. Female munitions officers with whom we spoke say that they, and their male colleagues and subordinates, accepted the change naturally, while acknowledging the novelty of the situation.
[...]
The change reflects not only a spirit of feminism in the Israel Defense Forces, but also the difficulty of recruiting personnel into the various technical units. While the motivation to serve in elite combat units remains high, young men are less enthusiastic about serve in technological positions, partly due to the steady decline in the number of trade schools and of high school students who opt to study technological and technical subjects at a high level.
Emphasis mine.
Yup, assimilation into a militaristic mind set in which you conform (willingly, of course) to ideals of power through violence and in which you only got the job because not enough boys are willing to "tinker".
I'm feeling the equality.
Or not:
While female munitions officers in combat battalions are no longer an unusual sight, Ben Aderet and Cohen [Two Munition Officers being interviews[ still feel they're under a magnifying glass. Not only because of their participation in the fighting but also because of prevailing beliefs in "civilian life," such as women's lack of technical awareness.
"It's not self-evident," Ben Aderet said. "When I come at 2 A.M. to rescue a vehicle, they first see a girl who has come to take care of a patrol that got stuck. I feel I have to prove myself each time. My soldiers already know that and they come to work, but when I work with companies from other units my soldiers prepare them and say, 'She's not a girl like the kind you know.'"
"It really is a man's job," Cohen said. "It's dirty and there's tank grease and they still raise an eyebrow when they see me for the first time, but it doesn?t last too long. There are still nasty comments. Soldiers ask me, do you even know the difference between a Merkava 3 and a Merkava 4 tank?"
The spirit of Feminism.
Gotta love the regular every day sexism, though.
As for what they saw in Gaza (like the soldiers testimony above)... not much, apparently:
They are also reluctant to comment on issues relating to the Gaza operation. Aloush [another interviewy] says she saw no [Palestinian] civilians or demolished houses inside the Strip, "but I did see the launching of missiles at Israel, just 300 meters from me." Ben Aderet says that she did see the suffering of the Palestinian population. "You go home after a month, everything seems very strange and you don't take in where you are. It was not so pleasant."
Amazing what they put together in one Newspaper.
Notes
(1) This "Free Press" writes articles about the censorship it undergoes through the IDF censor: This article has been approved by the censor.
(2) Though I think we all know that this is really not the case, seeing as the power a women soldier has in her unit does not get translated into civilian life. Not to mention that as long as boys serve more time than girls and that jobs continue to be gendered... the IDF really isn't a platform for equalisation.
