Dubai Forums Dubai Discussions Dubai Politics Talk

IDF soldier posts images of blindfold Palestinians on Facebook, from 'best time of my life'
By Haaretz Service


A former Israel Defense Forces soldier has raised a storm on the internet after posting photographs of herself posing next to blindfold Palestinian prisoners on Facebook.

Photographs uploaded by Eden from Ashdod and labeled "IDF – the best time of my life" show her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered.

"That looks really sexy for you," says a comment posted by one of Eden's friend on the social networking site, alongside a picture or the soldier smiling in front of two blindfold men.

Eden's repose, posted below, reads: "I wonder if he is on Facebook too – I'll have to tag him in the photo."

Because Eden 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.

The IDF said in a statement: "These actions are ugly and callous; details of the incident have been forwarded up the chain of command."

Israeli blogger Lisa Goldman contacted the former soldier via Facebook, who replied: "I don't speak to leftists."

In the past year, the IDF hs announced new strict rules for soldiers, forbidding them to post photos from military operations and bases.

IDF military intelligence has an office tasked with identifying leaks of sensitive material and can refer cases to military police, potentially leading to a criminal conviction for any soldier caught breaking information security directives.

Yishai Menuchin, the director of the Public Committee Against Torture, an NGO, Yishai Menuchin, condemned the soldiers actions:

"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."

He added: "The soldier would go crazy if photographs of her in humiliating circumstances had been posted on the internet without her permission. We call upon IDF commanders to issue orders to prevent this kind of humiliating behavior."

A great many young Israeli soldiers have photograph albums quite similar to Eden Aberjil's "The army: the best days of my life".

The only difference is that they do not post them on Facebook.

That explains her remark that she still did not "understand what was wrong" and the comment of Dr Ishai Menuchin of the Committee Against Torture in Israel that "she is a bad apple, but all the box are bad apples".

The IDF likes to think of itself as the most ethical army in the world and so condemned the photographs in strident terms. (They are also no fools when it comes to public relations).

For most young conscripts, and young Israelis who have completed their military service, I suspect the reaction will not be outrage but a simple shrug of the shoulders.

'Facebook photos of soldiers posing with bound Palestinians are the norm'




Rights group Breaking the Silence refutes IDF claim that photos posted by female soldier under the heading 'the time of my life' are an anomaly.
By Haaretz Service


Facebook photos depicting Israel Defense Forces soldiers pictured alongside handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainees represent the norm, not the exception, in IDF conduct, an Israeli human rights group said on Tuesday, thus refuting an official army statement claiming the opposite.

Photographs uploaded by Eden Abergil released earlier this week and labeled "IDF – the best time of my life," sparked massive public outrage. The photos depicted Abergil 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."

An IDF spokesman had issued a response on Monday, saying that "on the face of it the behavior exhibited by the soldier is base and crude."

In a statement released Tuesday by Breaking the Silence, an organization that collects testimonies of Israeli soldiers on alleged abuse of Palestinians in the territories, the group said that while the IDF claimed to be "shocked" by Abergil's photos, it did not represent "the ugly behavior of just one person."

The statement released in a Facebook page called "The Norm that IDF Spokesman Avi Benayahu Denies," also included several graphic photos depicting soldiers posing next to the bodies of suspected militants as well as next to handcuffed detainees [viewer discretion is advised].

In the Facebook page, Breaking the Silence said that the norms the photos allegedly expose were the" necessary result of a long-term military control of a civilian population."

"We suggest that the IDF Spokesman not insult the intelligence of the Israeli public, and clarify that it is a widespread phenomenon, not an aberration caused by a single soldier," the statement said, adding that the enclosed photos were taken at several times during the last ten years and represented only a "preliminary batch."

Speaking to Army Radio earlier Tuesday, Abergil, whose Facebook photos caused a worldwide media storm, said she still couldn't see what was wrong with the images, saying the "pictures were taken in good faith, there was no statement in 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."

In the Facebook page, Breaking the Silence said that the norms the photos allegedly expose were the" necessary result of a long-term military control of a civilian population."

"We suggest that the IDF Spokesman not insult the intelligence of the Israeli public, and clarify that it is a widespread phenomenon, not an aberration caused by a single soldier," the statement said, adding that the enclosed photos were taken at several times during the last ten years and represented only a "preliminary batch."

Dr Ishai Menuchin of the Committee Against Torture in Israel that "she is a bad apple, but all the box are bad apples".