Soldiers who were present at the checkpoint at the time said their comrade acted according to IDF regulations and the activist's reaction was inexplicable and "degrading."
"There are a lot of situations where we carry on as usual and don't respond, but this was too much and he was offended," soldiers said.
In the written apology sent to the soldier's commander the Machsom Watch activist wrote that hearing the soldier giving instructions to the Palestinian was "unbearable." (YNETnews)
Caroline Glick comments that it would appear the IDF's General Staff has lost its collective mind.
RATHER THAN contend with this situation with the necessary self-interested sensitivity in light of the damage a breach of relations with the religious Zionist camp will cause to the IDF as a fighting force, Halutz has been going out of his way in recent months to publicly chastise, insult and alienate this public. Several months ago, referring to the violence at Amona and the protests last summer against the expulsions from Gaza, Halutz described the protesters as "poisoners of wells." On Holocaust Memorial Day he accused them of belittling the Holocaust for using the slogan "We won't forget and we won't forgive" regarding the expulsions last summer, although the same slogan has been used by the Left numerous times in the past. Halutz has held publicized meetings with members of the extremist Left wing group Machsom Watch but rudely refused to meet with Col. (res.) Moti Yogev, the former deputy commander of the Gaza Division who was wounded by police at Amona.
If you serve in the army, support the army, send your kids to the army, provide food for the army, you're probably doing something wrong?
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
Why are you expecting the Left and Halutz in particular not to act hypocritically?
ReplyDeleteThe March issue of the Atlantic had a piece on the machsomim by a non-Jewish reporter and it was remarkably fair-minded, to both sides.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't everyone call the IDF "nazis"?
ReplyDelete('everyone' being crazy people from both the right and the left)
Jameel - ONE person in Machsom Watch called the IDF a Nazi, according to that report. Your misleading heading implies that it is policy of the organization to do so: It is not.
ReplyDeleteBut more pertinently- bear in mind that by that logic, anyone could therefore have written a similar heading, replacing "Machsom Watch" with "Gush Katif Refugees" last year.
I just think people need to be more careful when they speak... thats just ridiculous!
ReplyDelete(Yet it gets results, hmmmm.)
I've heard yassamniks being called nazis many times by many people, when they actually were acting like nazis and it didn't get the results that one left-wing activist gets.
ReplyDeleteHashem yishmor aleinu.
ReplyDeleteThat's all I have to say.
it's like cindy sheehan faction of the US. how tragic. :(
ReplyDelete"We won't forget and we won't forgive"
ReplyDelete--So everyone's a Bourbon these days?
It must be true then that the only way to achieve anything in Israel as an international or local civilian is through the press.
ReplyDeletetafka pp: the difference between Gush Katif refugees and Machsom Watch activists is that while the "settlers" had and continue to have a legite problem with soldiers deliberately adding insult to injury, Machsom Watch and org's like it are protecting the rights of the entity known as the "palestinians." That entity has no business living in Israel and is actually a fifth column within the Jewish State.
ReplyDeleteOh and Joe: good point. The Left have always been lying hypocrites at best and Halutz is no replacement for Boogi--a real army commander.
ReplyDeleteEitan, that wasn't my point. I was taking Jameel to task for implying that Machsom Watch are alone in calling the IDF Nazis. Don't think for a moment I don't think it is disgusting when anyone, whatever side of the spectrum, behaves like that.
ReplyDeleteOh, I got you. BTW: am thinking of changing my name back to "Greg" and that's what I'd like to be called for now. Thanks.
ReplyDelete