Breaking The Silence ( Hebrew: שוברים שתיקה Shovrim Shtika) (BtS) is an Israeli non-governmental organization established by IDF soldiers and veterans who collect and provide testimonies about their military service in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, giving serving and discharged Israeli personnel and reservists a platform to confidentially describe their experience in the occupied territories.

The organization's stated mission is to "break the silence" of IDF soldiers who return to civilian life in Israel and "discover the gap between the reality which they encountered in the Territories, and the silence which they encounter at home." By publishing true accounts of soldiers, Breaking the Silence hopes to "force Israeli society to address the reality which it created" and face the truth about "abuse towards Palestinians, looting, and destruction of property" that is familiar to soldiers. ^[1]

History

In 2004, Avichai Sharon, Yehuda Shaul and Noam Chayut exhibited a series of photographs and written accounts from IDF soldiers who had served in the city of Hebron. The three were motivated by "their own mental health" and a desire for Israel to "confront the truth about its policies". The exhibition was attended by thousands and the organization has since become a vehicle for serving and ex-service personnel of the IDF to record their testimonies, attracting hundred of members. ^[2]

Leadership

Yehuda Shaul who served with the IDF Nachal unit’s 50th battalion in Hebron, completing two tours of duty, is the executive director of BTS. ^[3] Mikhael Manekin is director of BTS. ^[4]

Funding

Breaking the Silence is funded by the European Union and the British, Dutch and Spanish governments. ^[5]

Aims

The organisation's main aim is "to break the silence and taboo surrounding the behaviour of Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian territories in an endeavour to enlighten ordinary Israelis on what happens behind the scenes as their sons and daughters, husbands and wives serve the Jewish state." ^[6]

As with Yesh Gvul, Breaking the Silence believes that the role of the Israeli army in subjugating the Palestinian population in the occupied territories places IDF soldiers in a position of grave moral and political dilemma and ultimately that the actions of Yesh Gvul are in the best interest of Israeli society. ^[7]

Methods

Anonymity

The anonymity of the testimonies used by Breaking the Silence has led to Israeli failures in the investigation of reported incidents. ^{[8] [9]}

The anonymity is necessary due tot he fact that the soldiers would be court-martialled if their identities were known.

Hebron

In June 2004 'Breaking the Silence' produced a photographic exhibition at the Geographic photography Yad Eliahu institute in Tel Aviv detailing some of the abuses in Hebron as the first phase of 'breaking the silence'. ^{[10] [11] [8]}

On the 40th anniversary of far-right religious Israelis, led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger, setting up a contentious Israeli presence in Hebron BtS released a report on the situation in the West Bank city of Hebron with 39 testimonies attached. ^[12]

Hebron Tours

BtS started conducted tours in Hebron for the Israeli public after the success of the Tel Aviv exhibition. ^{[6] [13]} BtS conducted tours only take small parties so as not to constitute a "group" as settlers have regularly attacked the tours. ^{[4] [14] [15] [16]} In June 2008, police District Commander Avshalom Peled said that BtS provokes settlers in hope of producing a violent response, and that the organization's behavior is "severe and dangerous". Police further claimed that BtS had held an illegal rally during a Hebron tour on 25 April. ^[17]

Gaza war

Majd Bed Rabbo, a cvilian rsident of Gaza, testified that Israeli soldiers had used him as a human shield by holding him at gunpoint and forcing him to go walk front of Israeli soldiers as they searched through Palestinian buildings occupied by militants. This technique is known as the "neighbour policy". Rabbo's account was corroborated by an Israeli soldier who also described the incident to Breaking the Silence. Israeli military police are investigating Rabbo's account, which if true would be illegal under international laws of war and thus a war crime. In 2005 the practice of using Palestinians as human shields was also ruled as illegal by a decision of the Israeli Supreme Court. ^[5]

Nearly 30 soldier testimonies were gathered by Breaking the Silence. Many of the soldiers allege that they were given orders by their commanders to prevent harm to Israeli soldiers by any means necessary. They allege that brigade, battalion, and company commanders gave morale-building conversations before combat that led to "zero patience" being given to Palestinians. ^[5]

An Israeli military spokeswoman dismissed the testimonies as anonymous hearsay, and claimed it was impossible to investigate anonymous claims.Breaking the Silence maintains that the testimony is anonymous because of IDF orders to Israeli soldiers against speaking out publicly. ^[5]

Other activities

In addition to publishing written and videotaped reports on their website, members of the group have carried out speaking tours throughout Israel, Western Europe and the United States. ^{[18] [19] [20]} Some of the incidents reported by members of the movement have stirred public debates in Israel with respect to the implications of its ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories. ^{[21] [22] [23]}

Footnotes

External links

• Official website (English)