Eyal sent me this: "I was at the launch event of the booklet of soldiers' testimonies from 'Stalwart Cliff' (I have no idea why it's called 'Protective Edge' in
English) by Breaking the Silence:
http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/testimonies/publications
http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/pdf/ProtectiveEdge.pdf
I think it's worthwhile to link there and to have people read it. Not because of BtS' politics, or some incredible revelerations - for someone who had been following the news well enough, or listening to the Palestinian side, there is not much that is novel; but the internal dynamics, the perspective of how Israeli soldiers "tell themselves the story" of what they did
In the Q&A phase I asked the panel of BtS activists about the question of intent, of willfulness - since at least one of them had said they're not accusing these soldiers of going into those Gaza neighborhoods with the intent to cause death and destruction. Basically, what I asked was "As the Israeli Military's self-justification story becomes more flimsy with each operation, how much further can you maintain that people do not intend to do what they do?" The person answering me stuck to the claim that soldiers were told, and it was drilled into their heads, that the zones they were operating in did not contain civilians or uninvolved individuals."
PS By the way, Eyal refused service in the terrorist Israeli army.
English) by Breaking the Silence:
http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/testimonies/publications
http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/pdf/ProtectiveEdge.pdf
I think it's worthwhile to link there and to have people read it. Not because of BtS' politics, or some incredible revelerations - for someone who had been following the news well enough, or listening to the Palestinian side, there is not much that is novel; but the internal dynamics, the perspective of how Israeli soldiers "tell themselves the story" of what they did
In the Q&A phase I asked the panel of BtS activists about the question of intent, of willfulness - since at least one of them had said they're not accusing these soldiers of going into those Gaza neighborhoods with the intent to cause death and destruction. Basically, what I asked was "As the Israeli Military's self-justification story becomes more flimsy with each operation, how much further can you maintain that people do not intend to do what they do?" The person answering me stuck to the claim that soldiers were told, and it was drilled into their heads, that the zones they were operating in did not contain civilians or uninvolved individuals."
PS By the way, Eyal refused service in the terrorist Israeli army.
