- 21 aug 2010
Zionists in bid to subvert Wikipedia
Gilad Atzmon views the latest attempts by Israelis, Zionists and “anti-Zionist” pretenders to sabotage the free encyclopaedia Wikipedia.
The British newspaper the Guardian reported on 18 August that two Israeli groups have set up training courses in subversive Wikipedia editing with the aim to “show the other side” of the Jewish state.
Those who lend their pen to the Palestinian cause know about Wikipedia Jews, a term that was coined a few years ago. It refers to a bunch of rabid crypto-Zionists who constantly vandalize encyclopaedia entries related to Palestine, Palestinian activists and Israeli atrocities.
According to the Guardian, two Israeli groups seeking to gain the upper hand in the online debate have launched a course in "Zionist editing".
Yesha Council, representing the Jewish settler movement, ran its 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”.
The Wikipedia project is a phenomenal humanist and universalist initiative. Hence, we should not be surprised that its biggest opponents are tribal operators, among them Zionists, crypto-Zionists and so-called “Jewish anti Zionists”.
One Jerusalem-based Wikipedia editor told the Guardian that publicizing the new Zionist conspiratorial 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," she added.
One should not be surprised to discover that chief among the “Wikipedia Jews” is alleged “anti Zionist” Roland Rance.
Rance, is a London-based Jewish Marxist who spends most of his time peppering Wikipedia entries with Judaeo-centric context. He was also one of the leading opponents of Deir Yassin Remembered, probably the most successful Palestinian solidarity operation in the UK.
a snapshot of Rance’s relentless attempt to vandalize Israel Shamir’s Wikipedia entry, taken last week
Wikipedia Jews have history behind them. According to the Guardian, in 2008 members of the hawkish pro-Israel watchdog Camera who secretly planned to edit Wikipedia were banned from the site by administrators. There is a war going on my own Wikipedia entry. More than once Wikipedia administrators have been called in just to remove contamination by Rance and other Zionists.
The Wikipedia project is all about knowledge and the availability of knowledge. Is it a coincidence that political Jews on the right and on the left are united to subvert this project? I do not think so. Once again, we are witnessing an episode in the Zionist continuum. They are all united against knowledge.
Apparently, the organizers of the Zionist Wikipedia courses are already planning a competition to find the "Best Zionist editor", with a prize of a hot-air balloon trip over Israel. I guess that by now we know who should be the candidate for the blue and white air balloon adventure.
Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli-born musician, writer and anti-racism campaigner. His latest jazz album, "In loving memory of America", was released on 1 March 2009 and can be purchased here.
http://www.redress.cc/zionism/gatzmon20100821 2 dec 2010, 01:41 , Respect -
Maria 2 dec 2010, 01:42 , Respect -
Maria 26 aug 2010
Soldiers photographed with bound Palestinians released
Military Court releases soldiers suspected of abusing detainee to open arrest on base. Prosecution expected to file indictment next week.
The photograph scandal does not justify the soldiers' detention. The Military Court ordered the release on Thursday of the Nahal Haredi soldiers photographed aiming their weapons at a bound Palestinian detainee. The soldiers have been released to an open arrest on their military bases.
Two of the soldiers have already been released. One other soldier remains in detention due to suspicions in another case.
The prosecution is expected to file an indictment against the soldiers next week, and perhaps request that they be returned to prison.
During a previous hearing on their detention, the prosecution drew upon the negative image created for the country. "The true importance is tested in relation to what we are living through today after Goldstone (UN report on Gaza war) and the Marmara (Turkish ship seized by Israeli commandos)."
The military court judge explained on Thursday, "The grounds for arrest are not the State of Israel's image." This time around, the Military Prosecutor did not reference this issue.
The president of the Jaffa military court, Colonel Rachel Tevet-Vizel, said there was no reason to keep the soldiers behind bars because the incident they were allegedly involved in was isolated and the investigation into it has been concluded.
"They aimed a cocked and loaded weapon at a person in their custody out of boredom and amusement," said the prosecution.
According to the prosecution, the delay in legal proceedings stemmed from a "pact of silence among the soldiers. The Palestinian was ridiculed and humiliated. The photographic documentation of such only makes their actions more grave. According to the Palestinian's testimony, the soldiers also kicked him and injured him. We are considering whether to indict them for aggravated abuse and illegal use of a weapon."
Investigators from the Investigative Military Police recently got a hold of the Palestinian who appears in the photographs. The man, from Jenin, was suspected of terrorist activity and was arrested on January 4, 2010. His statements were less harsh.
He said that during his detainment, he felt "flashes, a light caress on his cheek, and a light hit to his leg while in a vehicle." He claimed that he was unaware that a gun was pointed at him. When asked by the investigators whether he felt humiliated or undignified, he said that the only humiliation he felt was when "they arrested him in front of his family and friends." When asked if he wishes to file a complaint about anything, he answered in the negative.
Relatives of the soldiers arrived Thursday in court. One of the fathers said, "World public opinion does not interest me. They are the best of our soldiers and we need to put crowns on their heads. They are the best men there are."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3944549,00.html
Why Americans should oppose Zionism
Eden Abergil's now infamous photos do not represent anomalous, excess behavior. (Facebook)
Israel has been subject to some bad publicity recently. In 2008-09, it launched a brutal military campaign in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 400 Palestinian children. In May 2010, bumbling Israeli commandos murdered nine nonviolence activists on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla's Mavi Marmara. It only got worse for Israel when it was revealed that soldiers stole and sold personal items such as laptops from the ship. Last week, former Israeli soldier Eden Abergil posted photos onto Facebook showing her preening in front of blindfolded and despondent Palestinian prisoners, in some instances mocking those prisoners with sexual undertones. The photos were part of an album entitled "IDF [Israeli army] -- the best time of my life."
While Abergil's pictures may not seem as abhorrent as the Gaza and Mavi Marmara brutality -- Abergil, for her part, described her behavior as nonviolent and free of contempt -- all three actions are intimately connected. First of all, we must dispel the notion that Abergil's photos are nonviolent. As with the Abu Ghraib debacle, a sexualized and coercive humiliation is being visited on the bodies of powerless, colonized and incarcerated subjects, which by any reasonable principle is a basal form of violence. There is also the obvious physical violence of Palestinians being bound and blindfolded, presumably in or on their way to prisons nobody will confuse with the Ritz Carlton.
More important, these recent episodes merely extend an age-old list of Israeli crimes and indignities that illuminate a depravity in the Zionist enterprise itself. What is noteworthy about Israel's three recent escapades is that more and more people are starting to pay attention to its crimes and indignities. In so doing, more and more people are questioning the origin and meaning of Zionism -- that is, the very idea of a legally ethnocentric Israel.
I would like to address this piece to those who have undertaken such questioning or to those who are prepared to initiate it. I would urge you not to limit your critique of Israel only to its errors of judgment or its perceived excesses; it is more productive to challenge the ideology and practice of Zionism itself. There is no noble origin or beautiful ideal to which the wayward Jewish state must return; such yearnings are often duplicitous mythmaking or romanticized nostalgia. Zionists always intended to ethnically cleanse Palestinians, a strategy they carried out and continue to pursue with horrifying efficiency.
Likewise, Zionism was always a colonialist movement, one that relied on the notions of divine entitlement and civilizational superiority that justified previous settlement projects in South Africa, Algeria and North America. Zionism, by virtue of its exclusionary outlook and ethnocentric model of citizenship, is on its own a purveyor of fundamental violence. The bad PR to which Israel sometimes is subject today is a reflection of changed media dynamics, not a worsening of Israel's behavior.
The 2008-09 Gaza invasion, the attack on the Mavi Marmara and Abergil's Facebook photos aren't anomalous or extraordinary. They are the invariable result of a Zionist ideology that cannot help but view Palestinian Muslims and Christians as subhuman, no matter how ardently its liberal champions assert that Zionism is a liberation movement. Zionism has the unfortunate effect of proclaiming that one group of people should have access to certain rights from which another group of people is excluded. There is nothing defensible in this proposition.
Here, then, are four reasons why Americans (and all other humans regardless of race or religion) should oppose Zionism:
1. Zionism is unethical and immoral: Because Zionists claim access to land and legal rights that directly obviate the same access to an indigenous community, it operates from within an idea of belonging that is cruel and archaic. Israel bases its primary criterion for citizenship on religious identity. Imagine having your religion on your driver's license. And imagine having limited access to freeways, farmland, family, education, employment and foreign travel because the religion by which the state has chosen to identify you is legally marginalized. Such is the daily reality of the Palestinian people.
2. Zionism is racist: This claim isn't the same as saying that all Zionists are racist. I would make a distinction between the categories of "Zionist" and "Zionism." However, inherent in the practice of Zionism is a reliance on racialist judgments about who can fully participate in the benefits and practices of a national community. Many Zionists view themselves merely as supporting freedom and safety for Jewish people. I would suggest that people who identify themselves as Zionist look more closely at the ideology they support. Such freedom and safety, both of which are in fact mythologies, come at the direct expense of people confined to Bantustans and refugee camps.
3. Zionism contravenes the geopolitical interests of the United States: Many Americans have heard former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert boast that he once pulled George W. Bush off the dais while Bush was giving a speech, or more recently current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing that "America is something that can be easily moved." Israel costs the United States billions of dollars in direct aid and in bribe money to Jordan and Egypt for their docility. Israel also is the main reason for disgruntlement about American foreign policy in the Arab and Muslim Worlds. I raise this point with some hesitation because I believe all citizens of the United States should challenge and not celebrate American geopolitical interests. I would also point out that Zionism's narrative of salvation and redemption resonates deeply among Americans because of the US' origin and continued presence as a nation of settler colonists. In the end, America itself needs to be decolonized and the vast sums of money that support the imperial projects Israel so brazenly exemplifies need to be directed toward the well-being of those who pay the government its taxes.
4. Zionism is fundamentally incompatible with democracy: Israel, as a result, is undemocratic and will be as long as it uses religious identity as the operating criterion of citizenship. We hear much in the US about Islam being incompatible with democracy, a belief that is historically untrue and that elides the massive military and monetary support the US provides to the assortment of dictators and plutocrats that rule much of the Arab World. Neoconservative and mainstream commentators both evoke Israel in opposition to Islam as a symbol of democratic achievement. In reality Israel performs one of the most barbaric forms of oppression today in the West Bank and Gaza Strip while simultaneously discriminating against the Palestinian citizens of Israel who constitute approximately twenty percent of the citizenry.
The alternative media engendered by new technology have allowed more people to witness the unremitting violence that has been Israel's stock in trade for decades. Many consumers of this information and these images believe that Israel is guilty of excess when a simpler explanation exists: Israel is acting out the requisites of an exclusionary and inherently violent ideology.
These days all it takes is a little braggadocio from an ex-soldier such as Eden Abergil to so perfectly symbolize the callousness of Zionist colonization. Ten years ago, the Israeli government's lies about the killings aboard the Mavi Marmara would have been unchallenged by gruesome footage distributed through alternative news networks and social media. Nobody these days could have stopped the images of white phosphorous exploding and spreading over the Gaza Strip from being aired; Israelis themselves were foolish enough to capture Jewish children writing messages on soon-to-be-launched missiles.
Americans now have all the evidence they need for a reasonable and morally-sound conclusion, that Zionism produces a cruelty and truculence that they bankroll with their taxes and legitimize with either silence or consent. As a result, I am not arguing that Americans should reassess their level of support for Israel. I am arguing that Americans should oppose Zionism altogether. Perhaps in this way we might begin the long and difficult process of redeeming our own nation of its imperial sins.
Steven Salaita is author, most recently, of The Uncultured Wars: Arabs, Muslims, and the Poverty of Liberal Thought. A version of this essay was originally published by Foreign Policy Journal and is republished with the author's permission.
Attorney: IDF harsh with troops for sake of PR
Parents outraged at arrest of IDF soldiers photographed with detainees, call them 'best men we have'; Attorney: Army treating troops harshly to curry favor with world, should not turn soldiers into criminals
The father of one of four soldiers who posted photos of themselves posing with bound and blindfolded Palestinians called them "the best men we have" Thursday at a court hearing, while their attorney said the army was treating them harshly for the sake of global opinion.
"World opinion doesn't interest me; they are our best soldiers," the father said.
The four Nahal Haredi soldiers of the Netzach Yehuda Battalion are believed to have taken the photos with their cellular phones, where they were recently found.
This followed a wave of anti-Israel sentiment regarding similar pictures posted by former IDF soldier Eden Abergil on Facebook.
"My son is in custody, but not for drugs or for going on an unauthorized leave," one of the soldier's mothers said at court. "I have another son in Sayeret Golani, but why should he continue there? Who will protect us if not them? We hand them over to the State because of our values."
The parents of a soldier suspected of abusing a bound Palestinian were also present at court and hurled curses at photojournalists.
"No one should serve in combat anymore," said another mother. "Why are they on the Palestinians side and not on our side?"
The military prosecution said at an earlier hearing that the soldiers deserved to be punished for harming Israel's global reputation.
"The true significance of the case and the arrests must be examined in relation to the times in which we live," the prosecutor said. "We are being scrutinized at a time where we as an army and country are living under a type of moral blockade following the Goldstone Report and the Marmara affair."
Attorney Shlomi Tzipori, who represents one of the soldiers, said it appeared the IDF was acting "hysterically".
"This is a soldier who arrested a Hamas suspect for the first time, and he was excited and wanted to document the occasion. Unlike the soldier who published the photos on Facebook, they kept the pictures in their cameras. We must recognize that this occurred eight months ago, and my client has been in custody for 14 days," he added.
The attorney said the IDF was handling the case harshly for the sake of appearances.
"The current attitude is that if the IDF handles its soldiers severely then everything will be solved and UN decisions against Israel will be canceled," he said.
"But the soldiers should not be turned into criminals. No one abused anyone or intended to do so," he said. "The Palestinian detainee never complained and did not feel he was harmed %u2013 he never even saw what happened. This is not the proper way to educate soldiers."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3944380,00.html
Military prosecution: Israel under a moral blockade
Military prosecution cites international public opinion as grounds for arrest in hearing of Nahal Haredi soldiers suspected of being photographed pointing a weapon at handcuffed Palestinian
The military prosecution suggested this week that affecting international public opinion was grounds for arrest during as hearing against four Nahal Haredi soldiers suspected of pointing a weapon at a detained Palestinian.
The military prosecutor said that in weighing in on the arrest one should take into account the "moral blockade" Israel is under and noted that "the severity of acts is tested within the context of our reality."
The military defender's office was outraged at the suggestions claiming that the soldiers do no belong in jail and that there are no grounds for an indictment.
Photos of ex-soldier Eden Aberjil posing next to Palestinian detainees and the international response to the publication have caused the Israel Defense Forces to be extra-sensitive in handling acts which may prompt angry international response.
Several soldiers of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion (Nahal Haredi) are currently in custody after photos of them posing with a handcuffed Palestinian were found on their mobile phones. The photos were apparently taken in Jenin in January 2010.
[media id=1069869555MmWz size=largeWorld opinion has caused the prosecution to go at full force against the haredi soldiers, who unlike Aberjil were members of the IDF at the time the photos were revealed.
"We are being scrutinized at a time where we as an army and country are living under a type of moral blockade following the Goldstone Report and the Marmara affair. The severity of the acts is seen beyond their specific nature."
The statements caused a stir in the military defender's office and among the attorneys representing the soldiers. Captain Yuval Kagan said that "the cat is out of the bag" and protested the prosecution's wish to jail the soldiers for fear of European public opinion. The judge refrained from addressing the issue and ordered the suspects be remanded further in order to allow investigators to complete the investigation.
Filing an indictment
The military prosecution is slated to file an indictment against the soldiers on Thursday on charges of abuse or illegal use of weapons. Two of the defense attorneys claimed there was no room for a criminal hearing as no person was hurt in the event. "These are soldiers who had their photographs taken next to one of the detainees without wishing to harm or humiliate him," Attorney Shlomi Tzipori stated.
Another soldier who is suspected of being involved in hitting a Palestinian - an incident recorded on a mobile phone - was released from custody after no evidence were found linking him to the affair. The Investigating Military Police continues its efforts to locate the soldiers who took part in the abuse. ]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3944076,00.html 2 dec 2010, 01:42 , Respect -
Maria 28 aug 2010
The battle for Wikipedia: Palestinians counter Israeli editing group
Head of Palestinian Journalists Syndicate says organization to set up editing groups to ensure Palestinian view is presented online. 'Next regional war will be media war,' he says
After a rightist group opened the first-ever Zionist editing group aimed at defending Israel on Wikipedia, a Palestinian organization plans to create its own Wikipedia editing program.
Palestinian Journalists Syndicate head Abdul Nasser An-Najar told the Bethlehem-based Maan news agency that his organization plans to set up editing groups to counter attempts to present Israel's view on Wikipedia. He urged the Palestinian Authority to take part in the initiative.
An-Najar warned that the next regional war would be a “media war,” adding that online information on the Israeli-Arab conflict shapes world opinion.
Last week the Yesha Council and the Yisrael Sheli (My Israel) organization opened a course to address the problem of what it referred to as pro-Arab bias on Wikipedia. In a one-day seminar, lecturers taught dozens of participants how to ensure that Israel's view is presented on the online encyclopedia.
"We don't want to change Wikipedia or turn it into a propaganda arm," Naftali Bennett, director of the Yesha Council, was quoted by the Guardian as saying. "We just want to show the other side. People think that Israelis are mean, evil people who only want to hurt Arabs all day."
Ayelet Shaked of Yisrael Sheli told the British newspaper the problem 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."
Shaked said the Israeli government is "not doing a very good job" of explaining Israel to the world.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3944937,00.html 2 dec 2010, 01:42 , Respect -
Maria 29 aug 2010
Palestinians prepare to battle 'Zionist editing' on Wikipedia
Association of Palestinian Journalists Chair calls on Palestinian institutions to prepare for the 'war of public relations' against Israel.
The next frontier of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be fought on the pages of the internet site Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia which anyone can edit.
The chairman of the Association of Palestinian Journalists is preparing for the latest battle by calling on Palestinian institutions to make Wikipedia pages more pro-Palestinian.
His call follows the recent article published in Haaretz reporting on a class organized by settler and right-wing organizations on how to register and edit Wikipedia pages in order to make them represent the Zionist viewpoint.
The organizers of the Israeli course say their aim is twofold: to affect Israeli public opinion by having people who share their ideological viewpoint take part in writing and editing for the Hebrew version, and to write in English so Israel's image can be bolstered abroad.
Abed A-Nassar, chairman of the Association of Palestinian Journalists, says that Palestinians must be prepared to counter Israel's latest "war of public relations" on Wikipedia, as in the past, they have not been successful.
Organizers of the Israeli course announced a prize for the "Best Zionist Editor" - the person who over the next four years incorporates the most "Zionist" changes in the encyclopedia. That lucky encyclopedist will receive a trip in a hot-air balloon over Israel.
http://fwd4.me/0jqr 18 dec 2010, 22:57 , Respect -
Maria 30 aug 2010
Nahal Haredi soldiers charged with abuse
Four troops indicted after photos of them posing with bound, blindfolded Palestinian were found on their mobile phones.
The Military Advocacy filed an indictment Monday against four soldiers from a Nahal Haredi battalion for abuse and illegal use of weapons.
The four took pictures of themselves pointing their guns at a Palestinian in January near the West Bank city of Jenin, and were also accused of improper behavior.
According to the indictment, one of the soldiers held a blindfolded and bound Palestinians together with other troops. "He posed for a picture with him while pointing a loaded and cocked weapon at the upper part of his body. There was no point in directing the weapon at the detainee during the shot," the indictment said.
Ynet reported last week that the military advocate general said during the suspects' remand hearing that in weighing in on the arrest one should take into account the "moral blockade" Israel is under, and noted that "the severity of acts is tested within the context of our reality."
The military defender's office was outraged at the suggestions claiming that the soldiers do no belong in jail and that there are no grounds for an indictment.
Photos of ex-soldier Eden Abergil posing next to Palestinian detainees and the international response to the publication have caused the Israel Defense Forces to be extra-sensitive in handling acts which may prompt angry international response.
World opinion has caused the prosecution to go at full force against the haredi soldiers, who unlike Abergil were members of the IDF at the time the photos were revealed.
"We are being scrutinized at a time where we as an army and country are living under a type of moral blockade following the Goldstone Report and the Marmara affair. The severity of the acts is seen beyond their specific nature."
The statements caused a stir in the military defender's office and among the attorneys representing the soldiers. Captain Yuval Kagan said that "the cat is out of the bag" and protested the prosecution's wish to jail the soldiers for fear of European public opinion. The judge refrained from addressing the issue and ordered the suspects be remanded further in order to allow investigators to complete the investigation.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3946398,00.html 18 dec 2010, 22:58 , Respect -
Maria 1 sept 2010
Ex IDF When I was Eden Abergil
The occupation did not transform us into law-breaking criminals, it only taught us that it's best to be on the stronger side.
The photographs of the female soldier Eden Abergil on Facebook with the young, bound Palestinians did not "shock" me, as did the automatic responses of people on the left who complained, as usual, about the corrupting occupation and our moral deterioration. Instead, the photos brought back memories from my military service. Once, I was also Eden Abergil: I served in a Military Police unit in Lebanon whose mission was to take prisoners from the Shin Bet's interrogation rooms to the large holding camp of Ansar. I covered many eyes with pieces of cloth, I bound many wrists with plastic cuffs.
I never knew who the prisoners were and what they had done wrong, and I was not trained to know how to treat them. Everything was improvised. They showed me how to cuff them, apply the piece of cloth and load them onto army vehicles. And off we went. Very quickly I learned four words in Arabic that soldiers used when handling the prisoners: aud (sit ), um (stand ), yidak (put your hands out ) and uskut (quiet ). In the basement for Shin Bet interrogations at Nabatieh, in an old tobacco factory that had been transformed into the regional division headquarters, I saw prisoners eating like dogs, bent over with their hands tied behind their backs. And I smelled their sweat and urine.
I never saw "irregularities." No beatings, no slappings, no maimings. But if the cuffs were put on a bit too tight, half a centimeter that couldn't be reversed, the prisoner suffered great pain. The palms swelled because blood flow was restricted, and the trip became a nightmare when the prisoners begin to beg: "Captain, captain, idi, idi [my hands]." There were soldiers who tied the cuffs on too tight - a small torture that's not in the reports by Amnesty International or the Goldstone Commission. It's a torture that depends on a single soldier, without instructions from above or the military advocate general. An outlet for the hatred of Arabs during a routine mission.
And there were the humiliations. We did not force the prisoners to sing "Ana bahebak Mishmar Hagvul" ("I love you Border Police" ), as in the territories. The big hit back then was "Yaish Begin, mat Arafat" ("Long live Begin, Arafat is dead" ). In retrospect, it's not certain that our Lebanese prisoners were opposed to Arafat's removal; they may have even identified with that part of the song.
I once performed a leftist act of courage. I was guarding a truck full of prisoners who were waiting in the sun to be processed at Ansar. Suddenly a reservist thug showed up, with sneakers and no shirt on, and wanted to get on the truck and beat the prisoners. I refused to let him on. He made a threatening move. I had no chance against him one on one. I cocked my weapon, he took a step back and, enraged, said: "It's because of people like you that the country is in the state it is."
There was nothing special in my experience or in the photographs of Eden Abergil. Tens of thousands of soldiers who served in the territories and Lebanon, like Eden and me, were exposed to similar experiences. This is the routine of occupation: pieces of cloth, cuffs, sweat in the sun, aud, um, yidak, uskut. That's the way it has been for 43 years. When 18-year-old soldiers with weapons guard civilians with their hands and eyes bound, and see the prisoners lying in pools of urine in the interrogation basements, the situation is violent and humiliating without diverging from orders or regulations.
The occupation did not "corrupt" me or any of my colleagues in the unit. We didn't return home and run wild in the streets and abuse helpless people. Coming-of-age problems preoccupied us a lot more than our prisoners' discomfort. Our political views were also not affected. Anyone who hated Arabs at home hated them when he was defeated and weak in the army, and those who read Uri Avnery before being drafted believed that it was necessary to leave Lebanon and the territories even when they actively took part in the occupation.
But we learned one lesson: Regardless of politics, it's better to be the guard than the prisoner. Even those who dream of a permanent settlement and a Palestinian state and want to see the settlements gone prefer to tie on the cuffs than be cuffed. It's better to guard the prisoner and eat at the mess hall than to eat on your knees with your hands tied behind your back in a smelly room. The occupation did not transform us into law-breaking criminals, it only taught us that it's best to be on the stronger side.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/when-i-was-eden-abergil-1.311390 18 dec 2010, 22:59 , Respect -
Maria 24 jan 2013
(3:51) Israeli Soldiers Abuse Mentally Handicapped Palestinian Man 17 jan 2011, 02:59 , Respect -
Maria 5 sept 2010
French magazine exposes largest 'eavesdropping' base in Israel
Le Monde Diplomatique report offers peek into Israel's intelligence gathering apparatus, including powerful computers 'programmed to detect certain words and numbers' in phone conversations, emails.
One of the largest and most important intelligence bases in the world is located near Kibbutz Urim in the Negev, not far from Beersheba, French magazine Le Monde Diplomatique reported recently.
The base's existence was kept secret until now.
According to the report, the base has numerous antennas and satellite dishes used by intelligence Unit 8200 to eavesdrop on telephone calls and access the e-mail of "governments, international organizations, foreign companies, political groups and individuals" in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
The French magazine said one of the base's main purposes is to listen to transmissions from ships passing in the Mediterranean. The base is also the center of intelligence activity that "taps underwater communication cables, mostly in the Mediterranean, connecting Israel with Europe."
The report said the base was one of the largest of its kind in the world.
The magazine quoted a former soldier who served at the base who told Le Monde Diplomatique of powerful computers "programmed to detect certain words and numbers" in phone conversations, emails or other forms of communication.
The deciphered data is relayed for processing to a 8200 base near Herzliya, and then passed on to the Mossad and IDF units, according to the report.
The former soldier said her job was to intercept telephone calls and e-mails in English and French. "It was very interesting work, which centered around locating and identifying the 'gems' out of routine communications," she was quoted by the magazine as saying.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3949384,00.html
Israel's ambassador to UK slandered on Facebook
Security staff at Israel's London embassy is investigating who is behind two pages on the Facebook website which include personal attacks on the ambassador, Ron Prosor. The word "murderer" even appears above a picture of Prosor.
Prosor has recently published a number of articles in the British press which have apparently angered pro-Palestinian activists.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3949760,00.html 4 jul 2011, 09:32 , Respect -
Maria 9 jan 2012, 13:21 , Respect -
Maria 12 sept 2010
Soldiers pictured aiming rifle at Palestinian detainee
Nahal soldiers photograph themselves pointing rifles, making offensive gestures at blindfolded Palestinian detainee. Defense counsel: Many soldiers, officers have done the same
Controversial photos taken by Nahal unit soldiers on their cell phones were released Sunday evening. The four soldiers were pictured while directing their rifles at a bound Palestinian detainee in January this year in the Jenin area, and were accused of abuse and dishonorable behavior.
The photos show the soldiers pointing their weapons at the detainee while one soldier even makes offensive gestures at the blindfolded Palestinian.
The soldiers with the Palestinian detainee
Last month, the military prosecutor said during a debate on extending the soldiers' remand, that the decision should take the "moral siege" in which Israel finds itself into account.
"The severity of acts is tested within the context of our reality," he said.
"Many good IDF combat soldiers and officers have been photographed in similar pictures, with terrorists' bodies or the bodies of enemy soldiers," the soldiers' legal representative Att. Eyal Nun said. "Not only has nobody ever protested this, but such pictures have even been included in Israeli victory albums."
http://bit.ly/dBYREy 9 jan 2012, 13:21 , Respect -
Maria 15 sept 2010
Israel pays 'six figures' to buy Twitter name from Spanish porn site owner
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu logging on.
Account named '@Israel' lay dormant after owner Israel Melendez discovered his racy posts invariably returned a stream of anti-Semitic comments.
Israel Melendez, the Spanish owner of a pornographic website, on Tuesday confirmed selling the username @Twitter to the Israeli government.
The AFP news service reported that Melendez received a "six-figure sum" in the transaction, although other media reports suggested the amount was actually much less.
Through the deal, both parties appear to have rid themselves of unwanted web traffic: Melendez told the New York Times that the account with the micro-blogging site wass lying dormant after he discovered that every post unleashed a torrent of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments.
"My account was basically unused because I was getting dozens of replies every day from people who thought the account belonged to the state of Israel," said Meléndez, who lives in Miami.
According to MSNBC, Melendez told Publico, the Spanish paper credited with breaking the story, that he already had a handle with his last name - but was looking to shake off an ex-girlfriend by using a different username.
The State of Israel, meanwhile, can be safely assumed to be pleased to be associated with web content that is genuinely blue and white - not just blue.
By Tuesday the government was using @Israel to offer updates on the latest peace talks in Sharm el-Shiekh a far cry from the messages posted by the previous owner, which according to MSNBC included such essential information as, "a high percentage of your friends are naked on the Internet. Their photos are on Blueshines".
http://bit.ly/byXd3V 9 jan 2012, 13:21 , Respect -
Maria 9 jan 2012, 13:21 , Respect -
Maria 4 oct 2010
YouTube clip shows IDF soldier belly-dancing beside bound Palestinian woman
(1:15) Isaraeli soldier humiliating a palestinian detainee 9 jan 2012, 13:21 , Respect -
Maria 4 oct 2010
Web warfare: IDF to update Israelis via Facebook
Home Front Command building software that will enable it to use Facebook to keep Israelis informed during the next war.
The Home Front Command is building software to enable it to use Facebook to keep Israelis informed during the next war, if and when it takes place.
Colonel Dr. Hilik Sofer, who heads the Home Front Command's population department, confirmed the report but said no final decision has been made. He said the command has until now used television and radio to update civilians but that Facebook is clearly becoming a major means of communication, and not only for the young.
The plan is to open a Facebook page to update the public both in times of peace and during emergencies. The social network could be used for transmitting information even as missiles are falling.
The Home Front Command information center receives about 400 phone calls a month in non-emergency times and 100 more a month through its website. The command hopes most of these questions can be answered via Facebook soon.
http://bit.ly/bkwWY1