- 6 juni 2010
An israeli group on Facebook asks for the execution of the M.K Haneen Zoabi.wmv
(1:06) An israeli group on Facebook asks for the execution of the M.K Haneen Zoabi
Maria 13 july 2010
Morocco 'may nab top Israeli officials'
Israeli officials might be arrested if they come to Morocco due to Tel Aviv's 2008 attack against Gaza, according to a legal bid launched by a group of lawyers.
"The complaint is against Israeli officials who led the attack against Gaza at the time," a spokesman for the lawyers, Khalid Soufiani, told AFP on Monday.
The complaint accuses former premier Ehud Olmert, ex-foreign minister Tzipi Livni and incumbent Defense Minister Ehud Barak of breaching laws to protect civilians, Soufiani said.
Once the prosecutor accepts the complaint, those named will face arrest if they come to Morocco, he added.
"We don't know if the chief prosecutor will accept our complaint and follow it up," said Soufiani.
More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli troops in the offensive against the Gaza Strip in late December 2008-January 2009.
The group who filed the complaint includes one French lawyer, one American and three Moroccans.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=134472§ionid=351020202 15 nov 2010, 01:23 , Respect -
Maria 15 nov 2010, 13:31 , Respect -
Maria 24 juli 2010
UN urges peace by Twitter
Lisbon – Ma’an – UN Under-Secretary-General for Communication and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka urged journalists from Palestine and Israel to take advantage of new social media to further dialogue.
Akasaka, addressed journalists, diplomats and mayors from Mediterranean nations at a conference on The Role of New Media in Conflict Resolution and Dialogue Between Civilizations.
Though the conference was attended by many from Portugal, where it was held in Lisbon, and European press officials, the presence of Israeli Knesset members in addition to media professionals from both Israel and Palestine, drove discussion lead by European nations repeatedly toward the resumption of direct negotiations. Media members at the conference echoed the familiar positions of the Quartet and the United States; that direct talks are essential.
Media, conference members accorded in saying, was an essential element in communication between Israel and Palestine, and must be mobilized to become a driving force.
While Israel press officials, led by news director for Israeli TV, confirmed that the majority of the Israeli audience trust Israeli media and rely on them almost exclusively for information, Palestinian media representatives, including director general of the Palestinian government news agency WAFA, Riyad Al-Hassan, said their viewers already got a broad view of the world, citing polls that showed 65% of viewers rely on satellite channels from the Arab world, and not just local stations.
Journalists from Palestine also accused Israeli reporters assigned to report on settlements and settlers of presenting one-sided arguments without consideration for the Palestinian population that the settlers live amongst.
Notwithstanding the insistent urging toward direct negotiations by European representatives, regardless of the Palestinian government's stance that talks will not move forward without written guarantees from Israel, the same delegates spent time criticizing Israel for its ongoing occupation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301982 16 nov 2010, 21:47 , Respect -
Maria 25 juli 2010
Facebook prohibits the word ‘Palestinian’
The folks at Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet thought they’d create a Facebook page only to discover: Facebook blocks the term “Palestinian”! (H/t Jillian C Cork.)
Are Palestinians the only group so blocked from making pages? Well, not really… after a little fiddling around, I discovered that al-Qaida Refugee ResearchNet and Nazi Refugee ResearchNet are filtered too.
It does seem a bit odd, however, that a population of up to 12 million people, receiving more than a billion dollars in international aid, recognized by the UN, and enjoying a degree of formal diplomatic recognition from the United States — is placed in the same filtered category as Nazis and al-Qaida.
I’ve sent an email to Facebook customer service—we’ll see what they say.
Just to be sure, I tried myself to create a “Palestinian sports” page — not allowed.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/facebook-prohibits-the-word-palestinian.html 17 nov 2010, 00:07 , Respect -
Maria 12 aug 2010
Watch: 'Internet killed Israeli PR' mocks flotilla response.
(4:00) Gaza flotilla video mashup: Internet Killed Israeli PR 1 x viewed
(The video was banned from YouTube in Israel, France, and several other European states within hours of this posting. It is reproduced here for viewers from those countries.)
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A YouTube video surfaced Thursday lampooning the Israeli military's public relations efforts following its 31 May raid on a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla that left nine crew members dead.
"Internet Killed Israeli PR" parodies The Buggles' 1979 "Radio Star" hit and features a mash-up of clips released by the Israeli army and activists who were on board in the immediate aftermath of the raid in international waters.
The anonymous users who uploaded the video go by the handle Minor Demographic Threat, a throwback to a 1980s US punk band as well as a parody of Israel's race-based arguments against the right of return. MDT says its members are a multi-ethnic group predominantly of American and Israeli Jews, but also Palestinians and others.
"You could say 'Internet Killed Israeli PR' is our answer to [deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post Caroline Glick's] 'We Con The World,'" MDT told Ma'an on Thursday, referencing a pro-military music video that mocked the activists on board the Freedom Flotilla as well as Arabs in general which Israel's Government Press Office publicized but later distanced itself from.
"We're gratified by the positive response to the video so far, and we hope people will share it and even make their own," MDT said, in a phone interview. "Video is an extremely powerful tool as is humor. When those intersect they can be used to an even greater effect."
The video was inspired by bloggers Philip Weiss, Max Blumenthal, and Ali Abunimah, who scrutinized the military's version of events and led to the army backtracking on some its stronger allegations.
The army released carefully edited video it seized from activists and journalists, insisting that the soldiers opened fire only after they were attacked by Islamist terrorists masquerading as peace activists.
Activists say the footage was distorted to tell only Israel's version of events, and the music video takes note of the controversy: "The Shin Bet mined my SD card/And played it back on NPR."
Press freedom groups, including the Foreign Press Association, have called on Israel to release all of the footage it seized from journalists and activists who were on board the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara.
The group urges fans to support pro-Palestinian advocate groups like Artists Against Apartheid, an international alliance of musicians who reject normalization with Israel until it ends its four-decade occupation of the Palestinian territories and allows refugees to return to their homes.
The mash-up "rightfully ridicules Israel's futile desperation to maintain a clean public image while carrying out rabid attacks on human rights on the ground (or in international waters)," Artists Against Apartheid music producer and engineer Andrew Felluss told Ma'an.
"This had been working OK for the Zionist movement, until now, when internet 2.0 is increasingly decimating its information power," the New York-based organizer wrote in an email message. "Now we are seeing this impotence in action, in real time, and the effect is quite hilarious."
The video debuted a day after the Israeli army's chief of staff told a state inquiry panel that his forces acted proportionally during the raid.
Gabi Ashkenazi, in his testimony before an internal probe headed by former Israeli chief justice Jacob Tirkel, said that "The commandos exhibited calm, bravery and morality."
High-ranking Israeli officials began testifying Monday, among them Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=307721 17 nov 2010, 15:59 , Respect -
Maria 14 aug 2010
Israel: Its a mad world, Google “why should Israel exist” what pops up is vitriolic hate
Reclaiming Israel’s narrative of freedom
Public diplomacy will not succeed until we can unabashedly declare the story of who we are and why we are here.
Israel has lost the plot. To be precise, we have lost our plot. We are like tragic characters trying to find the story line in an absurd existentialist play. We have forgotten our narrative. Whether from self-imposed amnesia or a wistful yearning for “normality,” we are no longer able to articulate our remarkable story to ourselves or to the world.
Those who say we must go “beyond the conflict” to win the battle for international public opinion are half-right – of course we should tell of the stunning achievements of modern Israel. But public diplomacy will not succeed until we can unabashedly declare the story of who we are and why we are here.
Google “why should Israel exist” and most of what pops up is vitriolic hate about why Israel shouldn’t. If we are going to advocate for Israel, we must proactively and dramatically present the essential value that Israel stands for in the world and that frames all our actions and our efforts at self-defense.
That value is freedom.
IN NATAN Sharansky’s inspiring book The Case for Democracy; the Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror he argues that “all peoples desire to be free” including the Palestinian Arabs, and that “freedom has the power to change our world.”
But one thing Sharansky doesn’t emphasize is that the Jewish people are the original and quintessential national liberation movement.
From the Exodus from Egypt to the struggle against British rule that led directly to the founding of the State of Israel, the unfinished story of Israel is our march to freedom. Modern Israel is the solution to the perennial problem of Jewish homelessness. It is the miraculous culmination of 2,000 years of yearning to recover sovereignty and self-rule in our land.
Israel needs to retell the story of the ingathering of Jewish exiles from every corner of the Earth – both before and after the devastation of the Shoah – individuals who joined the unbroken historical chain of Jews living in the Land of Israel. We must once again proudly trumpet the extraordinary pioneers who found their way, against enormous obstacles, to their ancestral homeland – right up to and including today – and who with through their sweat and determination built a new future for themselves and the Jewish nation.
We must talk again of how we sacrificed many of our best and brightest youth who served valiantly in a citizen’s army to protect their families and keep the fledgling Jewish state free from invading armies.
Our march to national freedom is unique. What other nation, dispersed for thousands of years and disparaged as without hope, has rebounded to full vitality? What other people whose identity was so brutally repressed shook the foundations of a great empire and forced the release of over a million people, as happened when the “refuseniks” were brought to Israel through the “Free Soviet Jewry” campaign? What other modern state heard the cries of their brothers and sisters separated for centuries in the heart of Africa and launched “Operation Solomon” to fly thousands of endangered Ethiopian Black Jews to freedom in their ancestral home? And what of the heroic tales we still hear every day of Jewish immigrants who have made great personal sacrifices to raise families here? What of the unprecedented creativity that led to breakthroughs in fields like medicine and green technology? What of the unique blend of cultures and traditions that have revived the ancient Hebrew language and forged a living, dynamic culture? IN 1948 most of the world recognized the extraordinary rebirth that took place here. Today, Israel receives attention – albeit most of it negative – that is out of all proportion to our size or importance. It is as if the world continues to expect great developments in the human journey to emerge in this land.
Indeed, Israel is a crucible of freedom today no less than in 1948. We are on the front line of the embattled democratic states fighting against terrorism and tyranny.
What happens to the Jewish people will indicate whether the world truly cherishes the value of freedom and will fight to preserve it.
Israel as the Jewish home continues to be under threat from violent attack and insidious de-legitimization.
There are those who say it is too difficult to turn the negative tide of public opinion, whether in global forums or on university campuses.
We must not allow this to lead us into despair; we must act by restoring our core narrative of freedom.
We can energize a grassroots network of supporters around the world. Together, we can tell the story of Israel as the fulfillment of the Jewish people’s long march to national liberation in our land – a beacon of hope for humankind.
The writer is Director of Hadar-Israel Council for Civic Action, a non-profit organization based in Israel.
www.hadar-israel.org
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=184754 24 nov 2010, 10:35 , Respect -
Maria 16 aug 2010
Storm over Israeli 'abuse' photos
A former Israeli soldier has sparked controversy after posting pictures of herself posing with bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners on the internet.
Eden Abergil uploaded photographs into a folder entitled "Army- the best time of my life" on Facebook. They show her posing provocatively with the men, prompting lurid comments from other users of the popular social networking site.
The pictures and associated comments were discovered by bloggers, who circulated them on the internet on Monday.
Palestinians have long claimed that they are subject to humiliating and degrading treatment while held in Israeli custody, but Israeli authorities have always rejected such allegations.
The Israeli military has sought to distance itself from the controversy, saying Abergil is no longer a serving member of the country's army.
"This is shameless behaviour by the soldier," a military spokesman told Al Jazeera. "In light of the fact that she was discharged last year, all of the details have been turned over to the commanders for further attention."
Humiliating treatment
Abergil was discharged from the military a year ago, meaning authorities had no power to prevent her from posting the pictures on the internet. The photographs were removed from the website late on Monday.
But Ghassan Khatib, the Palestinian Authority spokesman, said that the images typified the treatment meted out to Palestinians by Israeli troops.
"This is an example of life under occupation," he said. "All aspects of occupation are humiliating. We call on the international organisations, starting with the UN, to work hard to end the occupation, because it is the source of humiliation for Palestinians and a source of corruption for the Israelis."
It is not the first time that the Israeli military has been embarrassed by material posted on the internet. In March this year, officers were forced to call off a raid in the West Bank after a soldier posted details, including the time and place, of the operation on Facebook before it took place.
Earlier this year, the Israeli military set up a special unit to monitor information posted online. Members of the unit scan websites including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace looking for sensitive or embarrassing material.
Israeli authorities have issued strict instructions to soldiers regarding the type of information and photographs that they may post online about themselves and their military service.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/08/2010816164542801123.html
(1:36) Israeli Soldier Toturing Bound Palestinian 1 x viewed
Young woman posts pictures on Facebook taken during her IDF service in which she is seen posing next to blindfolded detainees
Ex-soldier presents cuffed Palestinian friends
A young Israeli woman posted photos from her time in the Israel Defense Forces in which she is seen poses near cuffed and blindfolded Palestinians on her Facebook page.
Eden, an Ashdod resident who was recently discharged from the army, apparently had her pictures taken with the Palestinian detainees in 2008. The photos were posted in an album titled "Army%u2026best time of my life "
The photos quickly caused a stir on the internet with many net surfers shocked by the images. Some of her friends however responded with enthusiasm.
"You're super sexy here," one of her friends wrote her. Adi responded: "Yeah, I know, ha ha, what a day that was, see how he completes my picture, I wonder if he's on Facebook! I have to tag him in the photo! Ha ha."
The IDF Spokesman's Unit said in response: "This is shameless behavior by the soldier. In light of the fact that she was discharged last year, all of the details have been turned over to the commanders for further attention."
Director of the Public Committee Against Torture Yishai Menuhin said, "These types of pictures reflect the customary norms of IDF soldiers stationed in the crossings and the treatment given to Palestinian detainees."
Menuchin added, "The soldier's behavior is a product of popular IDF culture which does not consider the Palestinians as human beings with their own rights. It appears the soldier who uploaded the pictures enjoyed humiliating the detainees and disregarded their right not to have their pictures published online in humiliating circumstances, without their knowledge."
http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3937459,00.html
Adi Tal: You're the sexiest like that
Eden Abergil: Yeah I know lol mummy what a day it was look how he completes my picture, I wonder if he's got Facebook! I have to tag him in the picture! lol
Shani Cohen: LOL you psycho I wonder who's the photographerrrrr
Shani Cohen: Eden he's got a hard-on for you lol for sure!!!
Eden Abergil: Lol no honey he's got a hard-on for youuu this is why you took that picture lol you took my picture!!!! 24 nov 2010, 10:38 , Respect -
Maria 17 aug 2010
Israelis pose with dead Palestinians
More humiliating photographs, taken by Israeli troopers and border guards, hit the internet, some featuring the servicemen posing next to dead Palestinians.
The pictures, published by the Israeli human rights group, Breaking the Silence, on the internet social hub of Facebook on Tuesday also showed the Israeli soldiers wearing smiles in cases, while striking a figure beside bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners, some of them dead, Israeli website Ynetnews reported.
The photos unpleasantly remind the pictures taken by US forces at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
The group circulated the pictures after a former female Israeli soldier caused a furor by posting similar images of herself onto Facebook, appearing boldly next to Palestinian captives, similarly handcuffed and forced to wear blindfolds.
"The new campaign came into being in the wake of the publication of (soldier) Eden Abergil's photos, in order to show the prevalence of this phenomenon among (Israel Defense Forces) IDF ranks," Breaking the Silence said.
Abergil, who was relieved of her duties a year ago, had posted the pictures under the album name "Army... the best time of my life: )."
"The photographs that had been published are merely the tip of the iceberg. Many people possess thousands of photos, but only a small part is being published."
Around 7,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli detention facilities, reportedly suffering under harsh and life-threatening conditions.
Reacting to Abergil's photos, another rights body, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, had said, "The horrible pictures demonstrate a norm of treating Palestinians like objects instead of human beings - treatment that disregards their feelings as humans and their right to privacy," the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported on Monday.
Israel claimed existence in 1948, when it occupied the Palestinian territories alongside vast expanses of other Arab lands during full-fledged military operations.
In 1967, it went on to annex East al-Quds (Jerusalem), which is hailed as the capital of any potential Palestinian state, and later defied the international community's condemnation of its act.
Jawad Amawi, director of legal affairs for the Palestinian Authority's prisoners ministry, has threatened to take legal action against the former soldier's publication of the pictures. "This is a breach of international law, clearly a breach of human rights," he said.
http://www.jnoubiyeh.com/2010/08/israelis-pose-with-dead-palestinians.html
Breaking The Silence: Photos Of soldiers Posing With detainees Are The Norm Not Exception
Ghassan Bannoura PNN - The Israeli Human Rights group, Breaking the Silence, released more photos on facebook of Israeli soldiers posing next to detained Palestinians.
ImageThe group says that this behavior is common among Israeli soldiers that serve in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The media storm on the issue started on Monday when Eden Abergil, An Israeli ex-soldier, published a number of photos in her Facebook showing her with handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian workers who were detained by the army near the Gaza borders. The photos were published with the title of IDF the best time of my life
One of the photos had a comment by Abergil friend saying That looks really sexy for you," Abergil's response was: "I wonder if he is on Facebook too I'll have to tag him in the photo." The Israeli online Haaretz reported.
The Israeli military issued a statement deeming Abergil action as "base and crude". The army said Abergil action is an exception case and does not represent a norm.
It is something more common and wide spread in the military, because the IDF spokesperson tried to say that is an exceptional case, we kind of just from our collection sent out those photos that talk about the same issue, to show and tell people this is more common than we think it is.Yehuda Shaull, from Breaking the Silence, told PNN via phone.
The photos were taken in good will, they had no statement in them." Eden Abergil told the army radio today.
Those photos come out from a very basic place that is when you find yourself as a soldier getting used of seeing handcuffed Palestinians in a way when you serve in the occupied territories and you are surrounded by those images you get used of it and very fast you forget that they are human beings like you and that's why you take those photos and not feel that they are smoothing wrong. Shaull told PNN.
Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that collects testimonies of soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories during the Second Intifadah.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8659&Itemid=56
Facebook scandal: More soldiers' photos published
Additional photographs show IDF soldiers, Border Guard police officers posing next to bound Palestinians, Arab bodies; Breaking the Silence group: This is part of broad phenomenon, many more photos out there.
The Breaking the Silence organization published Tuesday more photographs of IDF soldiers posing next to bound and cuffed Palestinian detainees.
Some of the images show troops posing with the bodies of killed Palestinians. In some cases, soldiers smile to the camera as the picture is shot.
The group published the photos as part of a new Facebook campaign dubbed "the norm denied by Avi Benayahu," countering the IDF spokesman's claim that such photographs are unusual.
The campaign follows the publication of controversial Facebook photos Monday showing an IDF female soldier standing next to cuffed and blindfolded Palestinians.
"The new campaign came into being in the wake of the publication of (soldier) Eden Abergil's photos, in order to show the prevalence of this phenomenon among IDF ranks," Breaking the Silence said. "The photographs that had been published are merely the tip of the iceberg. Many people possess thousands of photos, but only a small part is being published we turned Eden into a scapegoat, while the norm is what needs to be targeted."
'Occupation at fault'
"This norm is wide-ranging and was created as result of the occupation and the daily control over the civilian population, one of the group's founders, Yehuda Shaul, told Ynet.
"Every soldier becomes used to seeing cuffed and blindfolded Palestinians as a matter of routine, and by seeing it so often, these troops become blind to the fact these are human beings."
The amazement expressed by the Israeli public following the photos' publication attests to "the immense gap between our self-image as a society and our image s reflected in the mirror and in the photographs," Shaul said.
"We think the time has come to put an end to the silence, which facilitates the culture of denial," he said.
The IDF Spokesman's' Office slammed Monday the photos published by Abergil. The soldier later said she was informed that the army will be dismissing her from reserve service and stripping her of her ranks.
"The army let me down," Abergil told Ynet Monday. "I risked my life and was wounded and now I'm sorry that I served in such army."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3938324,00.html
facebook: Capt. Barak Raz of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit responds on video
(1:08) Capt. Barak Raz Responds to Shameful Facebook Photos Uploaded by Discharged IDF Soldier
Capt. Barak Raz of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit responds to the disgraceful behavior of the former IDF soldier who uploaded shameful pictures to her facebook profile.
The pictures show her posing inappropriately next to Palestinians who had been arrested. The behavior displayed by this former soldier is not only disgraceful but in total opposition to the values and ethical code upheld by the Israel Defense Forces.
'I don't see anything wrong with Facebook images of Palestinian detainees'
Former IDF soldier's pictures, depicting her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered, caused a global media storm.
There's nothing wrong with the picture I uploaded to Facebook depicting handcuffed Palestinian detainees, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier told Army Radio on Tuesday, after causing a media storm over the controversial images.
Photographs uploaded by Eden Abergil from Ashdod and labeled "IDF the best time of my life," and made public earlier in the week depicted her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered.
A comment attached to one of the photos of the soldier smiling in front of two blindfold men and posted by one of Abergil's friends read "That looks really sexy for you," with Abergil's response reading: "I wonder if he is on Facebook too I'll have to tag him in the photo."
Because Abergil was discharged a year ago, the army has no power to prevent her from publicizing the photographs.
The pictures have since been removed from the site - but not before being duplicated across the web by a variety of bloggers and news sites.
"I still don't understand what's wrong," Abergil told Army Radio on Thursday, saying that the "pictures were taken in good will, there was no statement in them."
The former IDF soldier said the pictures, which she said were of Gazans who had been arrested while attempting to crossover into Israel, were meant to depict a "military experience," and were not intended to injure the detainees.
During the Army Radio interview, Abergil repeatedly said that it had never occurred to her that "the picture would be problematic," asking interviewer Ilana Dayan whether the media asked for detainees permission when they film them.
Referring to the possibility that the images could injure Israel's image in the international arena, Abergil said: "We will always be attacked. Whatever we do, we will always be attacked."
On Monday, the IDF spokesman issued its response to the photographs, saying that "on the face of it the behavior exhibited by the soldier is base and crude."
The head of the Public Committee Against Torture, Ishai Menuchin, also commented, saying that "these terrible photographs reflect a norm in the way Palestinians are viewed, as an object and not as humans. It is an attitude that ignores their feelings as humans and their individual rights."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/i-don-t-see-anything-wrong-with-facebook-images-of-palestinian-detainees-1.308537
Ex soldier from Ashdod: 'I actually took care of the detainees'
Ex-soldier from Ashdod who caused worldwide stir by posting photos of herself posing with cuffed Palestinian detainees taken during her army service says she received death threats on Facebook. 'The IDF let me down, I wish I never served in such an army,' she says. Meanwhile, PA planning to take legal action against her.
Eden, the ex-soldier from Ashdod who posted photos from her time in the IDF posing next to cuffed Palestinian detainees on her Facebook page is shocked by the backlash the incident prompted. "I received death threats from all over the world on Facebook," she told Ynet. "I'm sorry if anyone got offended, I actually took care of the detainees. The IDF has let me down profoundly. I wish I never served in such an army."
The photos were taken in the Gaza Strip where Eden was stationed during her IDF service. They caused a stir around the world and were reported on by CNN, Sky News as well as British newspapers such as the Guardian. "It's unbelievable that so many people are talking about me," she said. "I find it astounding that there are so many people who want peace and I'm the one ruining it for them. I got loads of death threats, I'm not scared, I know I didn't do anything wrong."
The IDF Spokesman's Unit issued a statement in response to the incident describing the ex-soldier's behavior as shameful. Eden claimed that she was told by the IDF she will not be called for reserve duty and will be stripped of her ranks. "I'm very disappointed with the IDF, the army is ungrateful. I risked my life, got injured, I was a model soldier, and now I wish I never served in this army."
She explained the IDF's response by saying that "the army is making the soldiers look bad and the country look great so that Obama won't get pissed off. As far as I'm concerned we're not even an independent state, people are afraid of just pictures. I'm sorry this is the way my country is."
The ex-soldier, who had her picture taken while posing near cuffed and blindfolded detainees said that "we always treated the Palestinians well, we always provided them with food and drink and would laugh with them. We never cursed, spat on or touched them. The few photos I put on Facebook are part of my military experience, it was innocent. People blew it way out of proportion. I have respect for all human beings, I served the country."
Jawad Amawi, director of legal affairs for the Palestinian Authority's prisoners ministry threatened to take legal action against the ex-soldier and said: "She did this act while she was in military service, so in retrospect the Israeli occupation is responsible for her acts. This is a breach of international law, clearly a breach of human rights."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3938049,00.html 24 nov 2010, 15:20 , Respect -
Maria 17 aug 2010
Israeli says she didn't humiliate Arab on Facebook, this is something that happens every day in the army
JERUSALEM -- A former Israeli soldier who posted photos on Facebook of herself in uniform smiling beside bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners said Tuesday her actions were "thoughtless." But she insisted she did not humiliate the detainees and said she was surprised the pictures were viewed as offensive.
Eden Aberjil struck a defensive tone in a pair of radio interviews, claiming that she did not do anything wrong and that similar things take place "every day" in the army.
Both the Israeli army and Palestinian officials condemned Aberjil over the photographs - one of which was accompanied by an exchange with a friend including jokes and sexual innuendoes. Because she has completed her mandatory service, however, it's unclear whether she will face any disciplinary action.
Speaking to Israel's Army Radio station, Aberjil called her decision to post the photos, taken in 2008 near the Gaza Strip, "thoughtless and innocent." But she added: "I still don't understand what wasn't OK."
"There was no statement in the photos about violence, about disrespect, about anything that would hurt that person. I just had my picture taken with someone in the background," she said. "When I understood that so many people were hurt by those pictures, I removed them."
In a separate interview, Aberjil lashed out at the international uproar over the pictures, which were vaguely reminiscent of the snapshots taken in 2003 by American soldiers at an Iraqi prison showing Iraqi detainees, humiliated and terrified. In contrast, the Israeli pictures showed no signs of physical abuse or coercion, and Aberjil denounced any comparisons.
"I did not humiliate those detainees. I didn't hit them, I didn't act toward them unpleasantly. It's completely different than the American soldier some are trying to compare me to," she told Israel Radio.
She said she was shocked by the international interest in the story, adding she had received calls from European and American media outlets. She attacked her local critics, saying they were more concerned about international criticism than protecting a soldier who bravely served her country.
"This is something that happens every day in the army, especially at bases like this," she said, without giving evidence. She called the army's criticism of her a "disgrace," saying she "endangered her life for the country."
Contacted by The Associated Press, Aberjil said she did not want to speak to the international media.
Palestinians are routinely handcuffed and blindfolded when they are arrested to stop them from trying to flee.
One photo showed Aberjil sitting beside a blindfolded Palestinian man slumped against a concrete barrier, while she leans toward him with her face upturned. Another shows her smiling at the camera with three blindfolded Palestinian men behind her.
The photos, taken in 2008 near the Gaza Strip, drew sharp criticism from the Israeli military, pro-Palestinian advocacy groups and Palestinian officials.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib condemned the photos and said they pointed to a deeper malaise - how Israel's 43-year-old occupation of Palestinians has affected the Israelis who enforce it.
"This shows the mentality of the occupier," Khatib said, "to be proud of humiliating Palestinians. The occupation is unjust, immoral and, as these pictures show, corrupting."
Yehuda Shaul of Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli combat officers that criticizes Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, said the pictures showed how Israel's occupation of the Palestinians has become "so routine ... you lose the ability to see them as human beings."
Capt. Barak Raz, an Israeli military spokesman, said the pictures amount to "a serious violation of our morals and our ethical code."
Although her former commanders have been informed of the pictures, it is not clear whether the army can punish Aberjil because she has finished her compulsory military service.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/17/AR2010081701328.html 24 nov 2010, 15:21 , Respect -
Maria 18 aug 2010
Wikipedia editing courses launched by Zionist groups
Two Israeli groups set up training courses in Wikipedia editing with aims to 'show the other side' over borders and culture
Since the earliest days of the worldwide web, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has seen its rhetorical counterpart fought out on the talkboards and chatrooms of the internet.
Now two Israeli groups seeking to gain the upper hand in the online debate have launched a course in "Zionist editing" for Wikipedia, the online reference site.
Yesha Council, representing the Jewish settler movement, and the rightwing Israel Sheli (My I srael) movement, ran their first workshop this week in Jerusalem, teaching participants how to rewrite and revise some of the most hotly disputed pages of the online reference site.
"We don't want to change Wikipedia or turn it into a propaganda arm," says Naftali Bennett, director of the Yesha Council. "We just want to show the other side. People think that Israelis are mean, evil people who only want to hurt Arabs all day."
Wikipedia is one of the world's most popular websites, and its 16m entries are open for anyone to edit, rewrite or even erase. The problem, according to Ayelet Shaked of Israel Sheli, is that online, pro-Israeli activists are vastly outnumbered by pro-Palestinian voices. "We don't want to give this arena to the other side," she said. "But we are so few and they are so many. People in the US and Europe never hear about Israel's side, with all the correct arguments and explanations."
Like others involved with this project, Shaked thinks that her government is "not doing a very good job" of explaining Israel to the world.
And on Wikipedia, they believe that there is much work to do.
Take the page on Israel, for a start: "The map of Israel is portrayed without the Golan heights or Judea and Samaria," said Bennett, referring to the annexed Syrian territory and the West Bank area occupied by Israel in 1967.
Another point of contention is the reference to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel3 a status that is constantly altered on Wikipedia.
Other pages subject to constant re-editing include one titled Goods allowed/banned for import into Gaza which is now being considered for deletion and a page on the Palestinian territories.
Then there is the problem of what to call certain neighbourhoods. "Is Ariel a city or a settlement?" asks Shaked of the area currently described by Wikipedia as "an Israeli settlement and a city in the central West Bank." That question is the subject of several thousand words of heated debate on a Wikipedia discussion thread.
The idea, says Shaked and her colleauges, is not to storm in, cause havoc and get booted out the Wikipedia editing community is sensitive, consensus-based and it takes time to build trust.
"We learned what not to do: don't jump into deep waters immediately, don't be argumentative, realise that there is a semi-democratic community out there, realise how not to get yourself banned," says Yisrael Medad, one of the course participants, from Shiloh.
Is that Shiloh in the occupied West Bank? "No," he sighs, patiently. "That's Shiloh in the Binyamin region across the Green Line, or in territories described as disputed."
One Jerusalem-based Wikipedia editor, who doesn't want to be named, said that publicising the initiative might not be such a good idea. "Going public in the past has had a bad effect," she says. "There is a war going on and unfortunately the way to fight it has to be underground."
In 2008, members of the hawkish pro-Israel watchdog Camera who secretly planned to edit Wikipedia were banned from the site by administrators.
Meanwhile, Yesha is building an information taskforce to engage with new media, by posting to sites such as Facebook and YouTube, and claims to have 12,000 active members, with up to 100 more signing up each month. "It turns out there is quite a thirst for this activity," says Bennett. "The Israeli public is frustrated with the way it is portrayed abroad."
The organisiers of the Wikipedia courses, are already planning a competition to find the "Best Zionist editor", with a prize of a hot-air balloon trip over Israel.
Wikipedia wars
There are frequent flare-ups between competing volunteer editors and obsessives who run Wikipedia. As well as conflicts over editing bias and "astroturfing" PR attempts, articles are occasionally edited to catch out journalists; the Independent recently erroneously published that the Big Chill had started life as the Wanky Balls festival. In 2005 the founding editorial director of USA Today, John Seigenthaler, discovered his Wikipedia entry included the claim that he was involved in the assassination of JFK.
Editors can remain anonymous when changing content, but conflicts are passed to Wikipedia's arbitration committee. Scientology was a regular source of conflict until the committee blocked editing by the movement.
Critics cite the editing problems as proof of a flawed site that can be edited by almost anybody, but its defenders claim the issues are tiny compared with its scale. Wikipedia now has versions in 271 languages and 379 million users a month.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/18/wikipedia-editing-zionist-groups
Facebook page launched in support of Israeli soldier who posed with Palestinian detainees
A new Facebook page appeared in support of the Israeli soldier who posted pictures of herself smiling in front of bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners.
Contributors to the new page- We're all with Eden Aberjil- posted their own, similar images posing with Palestinian prisoners, together with messages of support for Ms Aberjil. One person even sent a photograph which appeared in Israeli newspapers of smiling policemen with a notorious serial rapist who was captured after escaping from prison.
The various messages of support described Ms Aberjil as an honest soldier who has become the victim of an army witch hunt after military authorities decided to strip her of her military rank and not call her up for reserve duty.
Meanwhile an Israeli group advocating an end to the occupation in the West Bank has also posted new pictures on Facebook of soldiers posing with Palestinian detainees to prove how widespread the phenomenon is.
Breaking the Silence, an organisation that collects testimonies from soldiers serving in Palestinian areas, uploaded new images including a group of soldiers posing next to a seriously wounded Palestinian lying on the floor and a picture of a soldier pointing a rifle at a prisoner stripped to his underwear, The organisation said it uploaded the images in an effort to counter the claims by Israeli military officials on Tuesday who condemned the pictures posted by the woman soldier, but claimed her actions were those of a lone soldier and did not represent the norm.
Another Israeli human rights group, Machsom Watch, which monitors the behavior of soldiers at West Bank checkpoints, linked the latest set of photographs to the immorality of 43 years of military occupation.
The fact that so many soldiers decide to upload photographs onto Facebook and similar sites has created a headache for the Israeli military censor.
Army bases have posters reading Not everyone is your friend on Facebook.
Earlier this year an operation in the West Bank was called off at the last minute when one of the soldiers revealed operational details on a social networking site.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7952243/Facebook-page-launched-in-support-of-Israeli-soldier-who-posed-with-Palestinian-detainees.html
More evidence that Israel's image has dramatically shifted
Robert Mackey of the Times did a good piece today about the former Israeli soldier's facebook photos of humiliated Palestinian prisoners. He mentions Breaking the Silence's collection of similar photos, he quotes a Palestinian on routine humiliation. He leads with the former soldier's statement that she feels like she did nothing wrong.
A commenter named M. Junaid from New York wrote:
In a pathetic but very real sense, this woman is right - within the context of a society such as Israel, there is indeed "nothing wrong" about humiliating and oppressing another people. That deterioration of any moral sense is exactly what happens in any colonizing country, whether it was France in Algeria or the British in Kenya.
The difference, of course, is that the Israeli colonial project has no interest in pulling back to pre-1967 borders. For that, we can thank AIPAC and the American public that foolishly subsidizes Israeli colonialism, no matter how wrong it is or how much it alienates the entire Muslim world.
187 readers then recommended this comment. More than any other by far. Oh wait, Fizzy in Philadelphia comes close at 111:
As a result of their "Ethno-Centric" consciousness, they [the Jewish people] have become like those who persecuted them for generations. Ultra nationalistic, egomaniacal, and militaristic. They have gained world power status at the expense of their soul as a people.
Something is stirring in the American elite consciousness... (Thanks to Peter Voskamp)
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/more-evidence-that-israels-image-has-dramatically-shifted.html
Israeli military confronts new foe: the Internet
JERUSALEM The security obsessed Israeli military is confronting a new adversary trying to control what its own soldiers post to the Internet.
Facebook, along with YouTube and other popular sites, is turning into a formidable nuisance for the army, as young recruits in this tech-crazy country post embarrassing and potentially sensitive information online, circumventing tight military controls.
The issue exploded onto the national agenda this week when a young ex-soldier posted pictures of herself in uniform, posing in front of handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian prisoners on her Facebook page under the heading "Army The Best Time of My Life."
The controversial posting, along with a series of other recent gaffes, highlights the challenges facing Israel's high-tech military known, among other things, for its shadowy electronic-warfare units as it struggles to keep up with the ever-shifting sands of the Internet.
Last month, a video of Israeli soldiers dancing to the drunken party anthem "TiK ToK" during a patrol in the West Bank emerged on YouTube, earning them a reprimand.
Around the same time, a secret intelligence unit launched a Facebook group for its members that divulged details of the secret base where they served. The site was removed several days later after the army found out.
And, in perhaps the most serious breach, a military raid in the West Bank had to be called off earlier this year after a soldier posted details about the upcoming operation on Facebook.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38746594/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
Facebook flooded with photos of detainees, Cyber group supports former soldier Eden Abergil.
A new Facebook page in support of former IDF soldier and photo-poster Eden Abergil was opened on Wednesday, calling on soldiers to post similar pictures from their army service.
"We're All With Eden Abergil," the new group, was created with the following description: "Eden was an excellent soldier, and now the army is throwing her to hell and putting her on trial. Whether you agree with her or not, we will not let the army who sent her [into service] to run away from responsibility." The group also declared Abergil "the most beautiful and sexy soldier in the IDF!!!" and "one of the last of the honest people in the country."
Along with photos of soldiers, the group features photographs of police investigators with a serial rapist and the following tagline: "Policemen like to take pictures as souvenirs, too, with the criminals they captured. For example, when rapist Benny Sela was caught, the policement who found him took a picture with him in the interrogation room!""
The group features a photo album titled "Not only Eden enjoyed the army," which includes photographs from Breaking the Silence's facebook group, as well as some new ones. One photo depicts four female soldiers pointing their guns at a woman who is kneeling and blindfolded, with her hands tied behind her back. Another shows a female soldier posing with a tied-up Palestinian prisoner.
A Facebook member, writing under the pseudonym "Kahane's Legacy" wrote that "we can not forget one thing: These are not just prisoners. These are not just innocent people from the street; they are terrorists who were arrested a few minutes before trying to murder these soldiers." Another commenter, Mohamad Jaber wrote: "A smart, brave and strong army does not do such things. You should be embarassed! People with out hearts - what is enjoyable about this picture?"
One commenter wrote: "These innocent pictures made the whole world hysterical? You don't have anything to do - there isn't poverty and messes in other countries?"
Members of the group also added photos from the Abu Ghraib scandal, with the caption: "This is what Americans do to Iraqi soldiers - Guys, can we really compare?!! Eden only took a picture next to them - she didn't humiliate them or anything." The photos are particularly relevant, as Abergil has been compared in the foreign press to female American soldier Lynndie England, who was implicated in the incident in the Iraqi prison.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=185147 24 nov 2010, 16:48 , Respect -
Maria 19 aug 2010
'Facebook soldier': I'd love to butcher Arabs
IDF soldier who posted controversial Facebook photos won't shut up; Eden Abergil tells online supporters she hates Arabs, has no regrets about posting images; 'Arab-lovers won't ruin my perfect life,' she says
Eden Abergil, the former IDF soldier who caused a worldwide stir by posting pictures of herself on Facebook posing near bound and blindfolded Palestinians, said Thursday: "I hate Arabs and wish them all the worst. I would happily kill them all, even butcher them."
Abergil has received thousands of messages on the social networking site over the past few days, some of them sympathetic and others chastising.
A virtual support group has also been established, calling itself 'We are all with Eden Abergil', and currently numbering 600 people. The members have demanded that other soldiers post pictures similar to the ones uploaded by Abergil.
The former soldier has also approved hundreds of new Facebook friend requests that have been pouring in since the story broke. She is an active participant in the debate that ensued, commenting on remarks written about the controversial photos and answering questions.
On one of the photos a commentator wrote: "Because of such a simple and innocent picture they ruined this girl's life and made of her something she is not."
Abergil responded to the comment, making it clear to the surfer that she's not taking the issue too seriously.
"No honey, they didn't ruin my life. I can't afford to have Arab-lovers ruin the perfect life I'm leading!!! I am not sorry and I do not regretttttt it."
Another surfer, Shai, responded to Abergil and claimed that she failed to grasp the meaning and implication of her actions. "It's called humanism," he wrote, prompting Abergil to respond: "I'm not humane towards murderers."
Abergil later adopted an even harsher tone, declaring: "I hate Arabs and wish them all the worst. I would gladly kill them all and even butcher them; one cannot forget their actions."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3940064,00.html