Breaking the Silence Exhibit: The Combatant’s Story

In this video, Oded Naaman explains the photos of corpses of terrorists (and why they shouldn’t be shocking), relates the confusion of serving in full-protective gear near children’s playgrounds, and finally the most important part of the exhibit: the wall of portraits of Israeli soldiers.

Here is what he says as he concludes his tour:

It’s not that simple to do what’s right or to defend yourself. And there is a price that I was never told about before I got there. And I want you to know that. That there’s a price. And whatever you think we should do, you have to incorporate this price into your consideration. Because this is my society you’re talking about.

…I felt like I was throwing away all the values of my country, while defending my country. This is an existential threat to Israel.

Click play below to hear this part of his tour yourself:

We’re asked from both the right and the left about the silence we’re breaking. The right of course complains that everyone knows about cases of abuse; our work is unnecessary. The left complains that this coverage doesn’t get enough attention. Both demand to know why Israelis don’t address the issue more if the whole society serves in the military.

Over at Magnes Zionist, an Israeli explanation of why this can be true:

First, soldiers have the attitude that what happens in the West Bank stays in the West Bank. They don’t come home and talk to their families and friends about things they are ashamed of — if indeed they are ashamed of it. Most soldiers do what they are told to do and don’t pause to consider what they are doing when they are doing it. By the time they leave the army and have time to think on their experiences, they are smoking grass in India, or trekking in South America, and trying to move on with their lives.

Second, much of what is considered human rights abuse falls under the category of “necessary, if regrettable, deterrence.” There are operational reasons why soldiers, like police officers, have to infringe upon human rights. I am not saying that these are extreme cases, but it is difficult to draw the line between what is militarily necessary or not, and that line is not drawn by you. So you don’t even realize that some of what you are doing is abuse.

Third, soldiers get desensitized quickly. The first time they are asked to abuse civilians, some are shocked. But after repetition, and when boredom sets in, they need to up the ante.

Fourth, some human rights infringement are deemed militarily necessary. So if you want to be a good soldier, you have to obey orders and follow procedures, even if that means that a pregnant women will die in childbirth at a roadblock. You are then told that these things are unfortunate, but without that roadbock, Jews may die. Etc.

A soldier testifies to all the above in this one testimony taken from the archive:

I did not think. In the army I never thought. And I used to come home and tell about it to my friends, which means I was not ashamed of it. Nothing. I did what I was told to do. And besides, everybody did it. That was the custom - officers and such, everybody knew. It never happened that they had told me to shoot here or there… and I would stop to think ‘what if’… First I took the shot; later, if I thought at all, it would always be too late. I never thought while I was doing that.

Read more testimonials online here, download the booklets here, or visit the exhibit for a full tour — we’re open at the Harvard Hillel through Sunday, March 16th.

In addition to responses by participants in the exhibit, we’d also like to begin posting testimonials by soldiers to share the nature of the exhibit’s content with you. You can always browse many more testimonials in the online archive.
This video is a sample of the testimonies taken by Breaking the Silence, in this case describing the second thoughts this soldier has regarding the use of Palestinians as human shields during anti-terror operations. He describes the normality of the moment, but the shock after being discharged and returning to society.

You are welcome to comment on the video below, email us a response, or stop by the exhibit to leave us with your own video response.

Yehuda Shaul two years ago in an interview for TogetherTV:

Here, Oded Naaman, IDF veteran and former artillery corps commander, leads tours at the exhibit in Harvard Hillel and begins with this introduction of the organization’s first exhibit in Tel Aviv (more history available here).

One of the most powerful stations in the exhibit is a collection of car keys (real keys) confiscated from Palestinians in the course of enforcing checkpoints. Arnon Degani, IDF veteran, relates the story all soldiers felt when they heard the stunning the news that an IDF spokesman denied that soldiers confiscate keys, “I heard it on the radio, and opened the drawer next to me, full of keys, just to me sure I was living in the same Israel!”

Oded explains the keys here:

Videos courtesy of Nina Smolyar.

Yehuda Shaul, Breaking the Silence co-founder, was covered on C-SPAN yesterday during a presentation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Watch his presentation here.

The central message of Breaking the Silence is “it can’t be done differently.”

A humane occupation is not possible in the experiences of these soldiers and if someone is committed to the settlement project, wherein a small number of Jews live amidst and must be protected from a greater number of Palestinians, then the result will be these ugly pictures.

Said veteran Arnon Degani, 25, today in a guided tour to a half dozen UPenn Hillel students, “It’s a slippery slope. You begin doing everything by the book. But then you realize that you can get away with everything. And that’s when enforcing curfew or guarding a checkpoint turns into abuse. You have so much power for an 18 year old. Shooting your gun becomes the most exciting part of the day.”

A very agitated participant, brought in by his son today, confronted Arnon on whether the territories were safer for Israeli citizens as occupied. Claiming the Arabs would kill all the Jews if Israel ended the occupation, he clearly represented a mainstream American Jewish understanding of the conflict.

Arnon said, “If you believe the occupation is necessary for Israel’s security, then you must accept that all of this will continue to happen. For all of the world to see. All of this must happen if we are to keep the settlements. And that’s fine if you think that. But if you think the settlements are for Israel’s security, then you legitimize settlers are military targets by terrorists. They are no longer civilians. I am there to protect civilians from attacks. That’s my job.”

To me, the most enlightening testimonies given by the soldiers are those which explain the realities of military operations.

“How can you tell if a detainee is a terrorist?” asked on student.

“Easy,” Arnon replied. “You radio the secret service and they tell you. You have the man’s ID. There are two kinds of detainees: terrorists and everybody else. I do everything necessary to capture terrorists. But I’m talking about what I have to do to civilians. I know these people are not terrorists. And far more numerous than terrorists. And yet I have to humiliate them to keep order. Every day. It can’t be done differently.”

This is what occupation looks like — not just the Occupation, but occupation in general. This bears an important relevance to Americans rightly concerned about Iraq today. And the message Breaking the Silence is bringing to the States is not how to end the occupation or even whether it should be.

This exhibit poses the question directly to you, asking, “This is what occupation looks like. It can’t be done differently. Are you willing to pay this price?” And the answer is up to you.

(X-posted to Jewschool, official media sponsor of the Breaking the Silence exhibit.)

Alternative Focus interviews Avishai and Noam about why we were founded and what our work aims to do in Israel and now the States.