Shovrim Shtika

IDF soldiers marching in Al Ma'asara (Yossi Gurvitz)

Watch: Former IDF soldiers reveal nature of occupation

Breaking the Silence, the organization of former Israeli soldiers who literally “break their silence” by sharing experiences from their military service and exposing the IDF to criticism, launched a video campaign on YouTube this week in which soldiers are seen identifying themselves for the first time in front of the camera. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1AK5OS54-4&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube] A formal launch…

By Mairav Zonszein May 16, 2011

Mikhael Manekin of Breaking the Silence (photo: Yossi Gurvitz)

Breaking the Silence member: ‘Gov’t doesn’t determine legitimacy of my voice’

The Knesset plenum voted Wednesday [January 4] to order the House Committee to consider establishing a parliamentary panel of inquiry into left-wing Israeli organizations that allegedly participate in delegitimization campaigns against Israel Defense Forces soldiers…MK Fania Kirshenbaum (Yisrael Beiteinu ), who submitted the proposal, alleged during the debate that the groups targeted for investigation were…

By +972 Magazine January 5, 2011

The occupation testimonies, part III: inside the checkpoint

Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran IDF soldiers working to expose the everyday reality of the occupation, is releasing a new book of soldiers’ testimonies from the years 2001-2010. The collection of 101 testimonies shows the degree of control Israel has over the lives of Palestinians. Unlike previous publications by BTS, this one is…

By +972 Magazine December 21, 2010

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The occupation testimonies: The brutalization of the IDF

How Giving teenagers power over the lives of other corrupts them – and the IDF “And my story is we and my story is that one time we grabbed a kid, not a big kid, a 10 or 12 year-old boy, something like that, we explained to him with the help of point with the…

By Yossi Gurvitz December 20, 2010

Testimonies reveal IDF campaign to dismantle Palestinian society

IDF soldier testimonies, collected by Breaking the Silence, and published exclusively on +972 (here and here), confirm that the intent of the IDF during the Second Intifada was to undermine the ability of Palestinian society to politically challenge Israel, by destroying its capacity to function as an integrated whole Reading the testimonies collected by Breaking…

By Roi Maor December 16, 2010

An IDF post inside a Palestinian home (photo: breaking the silence)

The Occupation Testimonies (Part II): It’s not about security

Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran IDF soldiers working to expose the everyday reality of the occupation, is releasing a new book of soldiers’ testimonies from the years 2001-2010. The collection of 101 testimonies shows the degree of control Israel has over the lives of Palestinians. Unlike previous publications by BTS, this one is not (only) about war crimes. More…

By +972 Magazine December 16, 2010

BTS: the IDF’s magnum opus

The compilation of testimonies published by Breaking the Silence is a work of art. Everything about it – from impetus, to conception, to structure, to execution – is profoundly thoughtful and contains all the elements of a masterpiece: a powerful concept; commentary on culture, politics and society; originality in approach and scope; mastery of the…

By Mairav Zonszein December 15, 2010

Breaking the Silence: the occupation testimonies (part I)

Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran IDF soldiers working to expose the everyday reality of the occupation, is releasing a new book of soldiers’ testimonies from the years 2001-2010. The collection of 101 testimonies shows the degree of control Israel has over the lives of Palestinians. Unlike previous publications by BTS, this one is not about war crimes. More…

By +972 Magazine December 15, 2010

BTS: Inside the moral corruption of Israeli society

After being arrested in a Palestinian demonstration near Hebron some time ago, I was handcuffed, blindfolded and then sat in the direct sun along with another Israeli activist. After some time, an IDF commander arrived on the scene and asked one of his soldiers, “why are those two in the sun?” The soldier reported that…

By Joseph Dana December 15, 2010

BTS: The birth of tragedy from the spirit of occupation

As any cultured person knows, the word “tragedy” originates in the world of theatre. Ancient tragedies were plays, written in dialogue. Contemproray tragedies are also written in dialogue, but they are not always works of poetry. The Israeli organization “Breaking the Silence” (Hebrew: “Shovrim Shtika”) is this week publishing its greatest tome to date, entitled:…

By Yuval Ben-Ami December 14, 2010