Breaking the Silence

Israeli soldiers violently drag Rabbi Arik Ascherman while he and a group of activists attempt to repair an access road for a cluster of Palestinian villages in the South Hebron Hills on May 3, 2019. (Ahmad al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

In the Hebron Hills, the settlers are the lords and the IDF does their bidding

A new booklet by Breaking the Silence compiles dozens of accounts by former Israeli soldiers who served in the South Hebron Hills of the occupied West Bank.

By +972 Resources November 12, 2019

Palestinian boys dressed up as prisoners protest for the release of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, Gaza City, 21 April 2007. (Ahmad Khateib/Flash90)

Palestinian kids are arrested every day. This time it’s my friend’s son

All my friend’s son wanted to do was pass his high school exit exams and go on to study at a university. Now, like thousands of other Palestinians before and after him, he is behind bars. No one knows why. Several days ago, a dear friend who lives in the West Bank city of Jenin…

By Orly Noy June 26, 2019

Israeli animal rights activists take part in a protest against animal cruelty, central Tel Aviv, August 24, 2013. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

By going vegan, Israelis can avoid talking about human rights

By choosing an ‘easier’ cause to fight for, some Israelis have decided they can have it all. By showing compassion to animals and their suffering, we can live with the continued blindness to the pain of the humans among us. By Rachel Shenhav-Goldberg Israelis have taken to vegetarianism and veganism perhaps more than any country in…

By +972 Magazine May 22, 2019

Latest

Dozens of women block traffic on Rothschild Boulevard to protest violence against women, central Tel Aviv, July 17, 2017. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

This summer’s wave of protests gives us reason to be optimistic

From asylum seekers demanding their wages to protests against the Gaza blackout to raising awareness over disappeared Yemenite babies, this summer’s protests give us every reason to stay optimistic about this place. It’s hot outside. The Israeli summer often brings with it a new wave of social and political protests, and yet it looks like summer 2017 will be…

By Haggai Matar June 25, 2017

Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked next to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, at the ceremony for opening a new year of justice in Tel Aviv, on August 30, 2016. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Justice minister’s attacks on Breaking the Silence may just backfire

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s latest crusade has led to a Breaking the Silence spokesperson being questioned under caution. But if she’s so concerned about army abuses against Palestinians, why isn’t she ordering an investigation into the string of unlawful killings carried out by soldiers? In Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s latest stunt, Breaking the Silence spokesperson…

By Orly Noy June 24, 2017

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, June 1, 2011. (Dr. Avishai Teicher/CC 2.5)

Creeping censorship in a southern Israeli town

Verbal attacks by right-wing groups and politicians in Be’er Sheva are threatening both NGOs and the local university. By Daniel Beller Over the past year various entities, including right-wing movements, have been trying to close down a joint Jewish-Arab cultural institution in the southern Israeli town of Be’er Sheva. The Multaqa-Mifgash Center, founded by the…

By +972 Magazine May 31, 2017

Dr. Amal Jamal at a conference announcing the 'Council for the Protection of Freedoms,' Nazareth, Israel, May 12, 2017. (Courtesy of I'lam)

Civil society groups join forces to protect freedom of speech

Dozens of civil society, feminist, and anti-occupation groups form the ‘Council for the Protection of Freedoms’ to fight back against the government’s and public’s attacks against freedom of expression. Representatives from over 30 civil society organizations gathered on Friday in Nazareth for the founding conference of the “Council for the Protection of Freedoms.” The council was…

By Haggai Matar May 13, 2017

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking in the Knesset, April 5, 2017. (Hadas Parush/FLASH90)

Netanyahu looks like a bully, but he doesn’t care

Any blowback Netanyahu receives after snubbing the German foreign minister will be short-lived: his base is behind him, he has the patronage of the U.S., and the status quo will remain exactly as it is. This week Netanyahu gave the world another lesson in how authoritarianism disguised as democracy works. Upon learning that the visiting German…

By Lisa Goldman April 25, 2017

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel prior to his meeting with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in Jerusalem, April 25, 2017. (Yonathan Sindel/Flash90)

Germany’s foreign minister calls Netanyahu’s bluff — and rightly so

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel will learn far more from his meetings with B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence. Given an ultimatum of meeting with Breaking the Silence and B’Tselem or meeting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel very simply made the right choice to forego Netanyahu. And not in order to “defy”…

By Dahlia Scheindlin April 25, 2017

Prime Minister Netanyahu making a recorded public address. (YouTube) screenshot)

By nixing German FM meet, Netanyahu ups Israel’s tyranny a notch

While Netanyahu’s move appears to be extreme, it actually fits coherently with his government’s orchestrated campaign against Israeli human rights organizations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled his meeting on Tuesday with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel just one hour before it was slated to begin, after the latter refused to cancel scheduled meetings with anti-occupation organizations B’Tselem and…

By Mairav Zonszein April 25, 2017

Israeli soldiers patrol in the West Bank city of Hebron, June 1, 2016. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Marking the festival of liberation as the occupation hits 50

As we celebrate Passover this year, we will also be marking the 50th year of the occupation. It’s time to reflect on what liberation really means when you’re holding another people captive. By Frima (Murphie) Bubis This year, as we celebrate the holiday of Passover, commemorating the Jewish people’s release from the shackles of slavery, we…

By +972 Magazine April 10, 2017

Israelis hold signs calling to fight against racism, occupation, and for freedom of speech, in a march against the occupation at Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem Old City, April 1, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

‘The occupation will collapse. And then we’ll build a moral society here’

On Saturday night, thousands of Palestinians and Jews gathered in Jerusalem for an anti-occupation protest marking 50 years since the occupation began. Breaking the Silence head Yuli Novak spoke to demonstrators about the importance of solidarity and resistance to the violence and racism of the Israeli government. Below is a transcript of the speech, translated from Hebrew.…

By +972 Magazine April 2, 2017

Palestinian workers squeeze themselves to pass through the Israeli checkpoint of Bethlehem while heading to their work in Israeli cities, Bethlehem, West Bank, March 19, 2017. (Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

50 reasons to resist the occupation in its 50th year

Fifty reasons to join a growing coalition united in creating a more just future in the region, in order to make the 50th year of the occupation its last. By Talia Krevsky and Isaac Kates Rose 1. January 1: The onset of the 50th year of violating the Fourth Geneva Convention through Israel’s military occupation over…

By +972 Magazine March 30, 2017