most moral army

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Photo by Activestills.org)

If Israel’s generals are moral, let them prove it

Defense Minister Ya’alon has been heralded as the Left’s newest spokesperson after repeatedly speaking out against Israel’s political leadership. Let’s not forget that this is the same guy who called Breaking the Silence ‘traitors.’ After reserving a spot among the “left-wing pragmatists” for openly stating that executing a dying man, and especially while on camera,…

By Orly Noy May 17, 2016

A Palestinian youth throws stones during clashes with the Israeli army in Bethlehem, West Bank, December 4, 2015. (photo: Anne Paq/Activestills.org)

The source of Palestinian incitement

Israelis are right, there is dangerous incitement among Palestinians. Here’s what they can do to fight it. The controversy over the Hebron shooter is the gift that keeps on giving. By Saturday, we have already stood to learn that the star of last week’s show will not be charged with murder, that a large part…

By Rami Younis April 2, 2016

Israeli army soldiers take part in the search operation for three kidnapped Israeli teenagers, on June 17, 2014 in the West Bank town of Hebron. [File photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

There’s no such thing as a moral army

The furor surrounding Breaking the Silence and the reflexive defense of the IDF both miss the fundamental point that any institution with violence at its core is inherently ethically compromised, and ultimately, an army is trained to fight. A raw nerve has been touched in Israel over the last few weeks. Far right-wing group Im…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland December 24, 2015

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An Israeli soldier aims a rifle loaded with rubber-coated steel bullets during clashes in Aida Refugee Camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, November 29, 2013. This day's clashes followed several days of confrontations after the killing of three Palestinian militants by Israeli forces in Yatta. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

A most moral occupation: Keeping the prisoners in line

Does Israel have the right to turn millions of the people under its control into prisoners simply because it is afraid of what might happen once they are released? The UNHRC report on Gaza and testimonies published by local watchdog group “Breaking the Silence” have sparked yet another round of debate over the IDF’s moral standards, or…

By Noam Sheizaf June 29, 2015

An Israeli Policeman prepares to fire a sponge-tipped bullet during a Nakba Day demonstration in East Jerusalem, May 15, 2013. (Haim Schwarczenberg)

Playing with fire: IDF to use new weapon on West Bank protests

A new type of sponge-tipped bullet introduced in East Jerusalem last summer has broken arms, fractured faces, destroyed eyesight and killed a teenager. Now a similar projectile is slated for use against Palestinians in the West Bank. Following the introduction last summer of a new type of sponge-tipped bullet into the Israel Police’s arsenal, the…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland May 22, 2015

An Israeli artillery unit fires a shell toward the Gaza Strip from its position near the border, July 24, 2014. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Chronicle of a tragedy foretold in Gaza

If there’s one takeaway from the newly published Breaking the Silence report, it’s that the IDF is most certainly not the most moral army in the world. By Ido Even Paz Breaking the Silence member Idan Barir published an article during last summer’s Gaza war, in which he warned against the firing of artillery into…

By +972 Magazine May 5, 2015

Military plans scribbled on the wall of a Palestinian home used as a military post by Israeli soldiers during Operation Protective Edge, the Gaza Strip, August 2014. (photo: Alexandr Nabokov)

How the IDF turned a Palestinian house into a military post

Shattered televisions, clothes and food scattered everywhere, clogged toilets, walls covered in drawings, stolen jewelry. These are the scenes that awaited Palestinians in Gaza upon returning to their homes that were used as IDF military posts. By Alexandr Nabokov The devastation is total. Furniture is overturned, clothes are torn out of the closets and scattered…

By +972 Magazine August 23, 2014