Video: How the New Israel Fund trains IDF officers to worry more about 'Palestinian' terrorists (and human shields) than about their own soldiers
I apologize for the lengthy title to this post - it was the only way I could let some of you know what the video below is about.
I also apologize for the fact that the video below is solely in Hebrew, and I do not have the time to start translating and inserting subtitles - even if I knew how to insert subtitles.
This video should be translated and seen by Jews all over the world. It might even be named "How Israel Shoots Itself in the Foot."
IDF officers must attend 'training seminars' given by New Israel Fund grantees like the uber-Leftist Bina (one of whose founders calls Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman a fascist) and the Shalom Hartman Institute (whose head says that Netanyahu is living in 1938 Germany, and that our problems are far deeper and that the 'sick roots' in our society must be uprooted) in order to advance in rank. These seminars teach them that sometimes the IDF has to accept being routed in order to avoid civilian casualties. They are taught that avoiding loss of life among 'Palestinian' human shields is more important than avoiding casualties to IDF soldiers. An IDF soldier is surrounded by 'Palestinians' throwing firebombs and he cannot respond because he has no authorization to do so. I kid you not.
At this rate, we will lose a war to show how 'humane' we are.
There's a new 'tender' for the right to give these seminars in September. Will the New Israel Fund win again?
Let's go to the videotape.
Sickness. True sickness. Who will want to fight in our army if we continue to send soldiers to their deaths to show our 'humanity'?
Unfortunately, this is not very funny. In another setting, this might be called a road rage incident, or might be an attempt to steal the car. Not in this country. It's an attempt to murder a group of IDF soldiers.
Update: Pal. threw rocks at army car near Bethlehem. Soldiers exited car after it was hit. Pal. ran them over. 5 soldiers injured
Did the soldiers exit with their weapons, and if so, why didn't they use them? Let me guess: They weren't allowed to under the open fire rules. If yes, the open fire rules need to be changed. This is the second time that's happened in two days (the subject of that link was denied a weapons permit because...).
It's come to this: IDF soldiers need permission from 'legal adviser' to defend themselves when their lives are endangered
I used to wonder why Shakespeare wrote that the first thing we do is 'kill all the lawyers.' I think I'm beginning to find the answer. We have now reached the point where IDF soldiers whose lives are endangered need permission from a 'legal adviser' to defend themselves. At least they have gotten it. Sort of....
The Legal Advisor for the IDF's Judea and Samaria Division,
Colonel Doron Ben Barak, has given soldiers permission to use live fire
against rioters who attack them with fireworks, if the fireworks
endanger their lives.
"There are circumstances in which aiming a firework directly at a
soldier from close range may create a real and immediate danger to his
life, efficient defense against which may certainly require opening live
fire against the person who fired the fireworks,” determined the
advisor.
Even when there is no direct danger to the soldiers' life – when he
is inside a pillbox position or when the fireworks are not aimed
directly at him – he may, from now on, carry out the Procedure for
Arresting a Suspect. This involves shouting out a warning, firing in the
air and then firing at the suspect.
According to IDF weekly Bamahane, the decision reflects a
change in the IDF's attitude toward fireworks, which were treated as
being in the same weapon category as rocks until now.
Yeah, and after all rocks don't endanger anyone, do they?
The video shows two Border Policemen arresting a rioter and
attempting to put him in their jeep. However, he resists the arrest, and
a group of his comrades presses up against the policemen, confident in
the knowledge that they chance they will be fire upon is next to nil.
The Border Police struggle valiantly with their captive as they are
surrounded by the mob and eventually have no choice but to let him
escape. Toward the end of the video, one of them expresses anger toward a
third policeman, who appears to have been nearby the whole time but
preferred to stay out of the confrontation.
And what has made the 'Palestinians' fearless?
Leftist infiltration of Israel's court system has led to a situation in
which even firing rubber bullets requires permission from high-ranking
officers, and the slightest use of force is pounced upon by the media,
which demands that the soldier involved be punished.
This leads to what's called Rosh Katan (literally, small head) syndrome in which everyone wants to put their head down and finish their service without getting into trouble.
Even the Palestinian Authority, despite its declarations, is not hastening to assist in finding out the truth. After two weeks, the Palestinian security forces have yet to hand over to the IDF the bullets removed from the bodies of the two young men during the autopsy in the Ramallah hospital.
And still, the shooting of rubber bullets, for which the soldier was suspended, reveals a few things about the conduct of the army during violent clashes with demonstrators. The soldier was suspended from his job, and a Military Police investigation was opened against him, because the firing of rubber bullets was not part of his assignment during the demonstration. Although he was trained as a combat soldier, his job (the precise nature of which cannot be disclosed due to a military court gag order,) is connected primarily to communications.
The Border Policeman and the other soldiers who fired rubber bullets during the demonstration were authorized to do so; the communications soldier was not. His suspension, which under ordinary circumstances would not have aroused any interest, attracted media attention because it took place in the wake of an incident that was to a great extent documented by security cameras and television cameras. Had it been a matter of soldiers who killed unarmed Palestinians in undocumented incidents — which take place almost on a monthly basis on the West Bank — there probably would have been no news coverage.
But the soldier is not so exceptional. A fact that is not widely discussed is that for quite a few soldiers who participate in dispersing demonstrations it’s a chance to take part in the “action” - firing shots, albeit it with non-lethal ammunition, in the midst of the chaos, and the adrenaline rush of a confrontation. We can reasonably assume that the soldier was seeking an exciting experience, or an escape from boredom, and that the Border Police acceded to his request to allow him to fire rubber bullets at the demonstration.
In recent years, most of the clashes between the IDF and the Border Police on one hand, and Palestinian demonstrators on the other, take place at times and in locations that the two sides have chosen in advance — what the army dubs “focus points of friction.” Although the encounter takes place repeatedly, sometimes on a weekly basis, the commanders do not have total control over the soldiers. There is always a possibility that a soldier will violate the rules of engagement, without his commanders knowing exactly what he is up to during the demonstration.
The potential for damage is exacerbated when the shooter is a soldier attached to a force and is not part of an organic unit. In the IDF there are many such job-holders — drivers, dog handlers, intelligence operatives and others — who wander among the units and join them for a few hours or a few days. This is potentially dangerous because the soldier is not part of the regular chain of command. The operational commander in the field didn’t know him before they were teamed up for the assignment, whereas his commanders are at the base and are unable to supervise him and to make sure that he is following orders.
During the years of the second intifada there were several incidents in which non-combat soldiers who found themselves in the line of fire caused problems for the unit to which they were attached, whether by firing irresponsibly on civilians or by operational mistakes (and even firing inadvertently at other soldiers). This is a weak point which almost invites mishaps, although judging by what the investigation has found until now, the soldier from the communications unit is not connected to the killing of the demonstrators.
The items I highlighted in bold reflect unsubstantiated allegations by Haaretz. The first paragraph (that I quoted - there were a couple of others before it) and the last half sentence reflect reality. And with good reason: There is no proof thus far that the IDF is responsible for the alleged killings.
At a protest in Samaria last night, Jewish residents called on the IDF to change its open fire orders to allow soldiers to shoot at stone-throwers.
The protesters are calling on the army to step in to protect
motorists. Specifically, they said, the army must reopen a security post
that formerly existed along the highway, and must change the open-fire
orders to allow soldiers to shoot at rock throwers.
“It’s a question of life and death,” they declared.
Attempts to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority have only
exacerbated the problem, they argued. “The more the peace talks move
forward, the more rock attacks there are,” protesters explained.
Several rabbis from the region were present, including the rabbis of the towns of Shilo, Maaleh Levona, Eli, and Shvut Rachel.
Dozens of residents of a nearby PA Arab town responded to the protest outside their community by burning tires.
In principle, I definitely agree that the IDF ought to have the right to open fire on stone throwers. For that matter, so should any motorist who believes that his life or the life of his passengers is being endangered.
Having said that, what do we do with the inevitable 'Palestinian' response of sending 10-12-year old children out to throw stones? My view is that the parents ought to be arrested and jailed for neglecting their children. Oh yes, and let the IDF use tear gas and rubber bullets on the kids if that's enough to stop them.
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee blasts IDF open fire rules, Chief of Staff won't change them
Coalition members in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee demanded that IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz relax the open fire rules so that IDF soldiers won't have to flee riots. But the IDF chief refused to make any changes.
The rules for opening fire in the West Bank will not be made less
stringent, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz told the Knesset Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday.
"I get the impression from
conversations with people in the field that the spirit of command is
that when there's a conflict, it's better to run away," committee
chairman Avigdor Liberman (Likud Beytenu), who lives in the West Bank,
said. "This is a difficult feeling, but it's the reality."
MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud Beytenu) expressed concerns that soldiers are left defenseless when facing Palestinian rioters.
"The
whole world and citizens of Israel are exposed to photos of IDF
soldiers stand helplessly facing rioting and attacks by Palestinians,
and the IDF must give them the tools to deal with such situations,"
Rivlin stated.
Seeing soldiers retreating when attacked by rioters
requires the IDF to rethink its regulations, Rivlin added, because the
current situation incites further violence.
"No one in the Knesset
wants there to be a change of instructions that will lead to the unjust
loss of many lives, not only from a moral standpoint, but because it
can lead to an escalation," Gantz responded.
Soldiers are
instructed to be determined, but not to pull the trigger, because doing
so would be against Israeli interests, Gantz said.
And so the IDF will continue to fight with its hands tied behind its back and to be sitting ducks for 'Palestinian' terrorists. And that leads to stories like this one.
Arabs attempted to break into the town of
Kochav Yaakov in the Binyamin region on Monday, and set fire to olive
orchards owned by Jews that are outside the town. They also blocked the
highway outside the town, preventing residents from entering or leaving.
The town's security force rushed to the
scene to face down the Arab rioters and prevent them from getting into
the town. At least five had succeeded in getting through the town's
security fence where they were caught sight of by the security force.
The Arabs ran away when they saw the security officers.
The officers gave chase and caught one of
the rioters, a 16 year old Arab youth from nearby Kalandia. The Arab
was carrying a wire cutter, and apparently was among those who cut the
fence and infiltrated the town. He was also carrying material and
equipment to start a fire, and may have been planning an arson attack in
the town, officers said. He was transferred to police custody for
questioning.
Kochav Yaakov is only 5-10 minutes outside of Jerusalem, and at one time it was scheduled to have a large group of Americans who were buying in together with a prominent rabbi from Rockland County, New York. I have a couple of friends there, one of whom reads this blog pretty regularly. One has to wonder where the police and IDF were when this was going on, and when the government is going to amend the open fire orders to allow Jews to at least defend themselves in this kind of situation.
Outrageous official IDF policy: Stones are not dangerous (video)
Official IDF policy in Judea and Samaria dictates that stones are not dangerous. You'll see that in this video. But as you will also see in this video, throwing stones at moving cars is nothing short of attempted murder.
Let's go to the videotape.
Three-year old Adele Biton, who was critically injured in an accident caused by stones thrown at her mother's car in March, has been released from the hospital to Beit Levenstein, a long-term care facility. She is still only partially conscious.
Three-year-old Adelle Biton of the Samarian (Shomron) Jewish
community of Yakir, who was critically wounded in a rock attack,
two-and-a-half months ago near the western Samarian city of Ariel, was
released from Schneider Children’s Hospital in Petach Tikva on Sunday.
Her life is no longer in danger. She is, however, only partially
conscious.
Accompanied by her family, Adelle was transferred to
the pediatric and youth unit of the Beit Levinstein rehabilitation
facility in Ra’anana, northeast of Tel Aviv.
Anyone still want to try to argue that thrown stones are not dangerous?
IDF representatives presented the incident's investigation findings to the family, including his widow and five children. According to those present at the meeting, the IDF explained that in the days that preceded the incident there was a terror alert focused on a suspicious vehicle moving along Route 60 near Beit Hagai.
On Friday morning a suspicious car was identified on the route, with soldiers fearing the car was being driven by terrorists en route to an attack.
The report was received by the three soldiers at the nearby checkpoint: A commander, a soldier and a medic. The force did not have enough time to erect a roadblock so the commander stood in the middle of the road and signaled the driver to stop using the flashlight on his personal weapon.
Later, the soldier fired at the car in which the rabbi and two other women were travelling in. The women were injured in the incident
The family was told that on Saturday the IDF had held a reenactment of the incident with a car that was driving at the same speed. According to sources present at the meeting, the reenactment made it clear that the driver had no way of recognizing the soldier.
The soldier who felt his life was in danger fired eight bullets. One hit the front of the car, one hit the radiator and the others hit the back of the car and passengers.
At the meeting the IDF officers made it clear that they considered the incident as a major failure in which the soldiers acted contrary to procedure.
The rabbi's daughter told the IDF representatives that she believed the incident occurred because the soldiers were very tense, and that the IDF needed to calm them down. His widow said that she understood that the soldier made a terrible mistake.
At the meeting, Colonel Hazut admitted that he was deeply ashamed over the fact that the incident occurred in his sector and expressed his deep sorrow over the affair.
The driver who was killed on Friday morning at a makeshift roadblock on Route 60 was Rabbi Dan Mertzbach z"l (of blessed memory) from Otniel. He was on his way to sunrise services at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Hundreds attended his funeral on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
Mertzbach was traveling to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron for morning prayers when a member of an IDF force, signaling for him to slow down, opened fire and killed him. An initial IDF investigation found that Mertzbach did not see the soldiers hailing him with flashlights.
The funeral procession set out from the Otniel settlement in the West Bank, where Mertzbach resided, to the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem, where he was laid to rest.
Mertzbach served as rabbi for several communities in the Hebron area. He is survived by his wife and five children.
The Defense Ministry announced to the National Insurance Institute on Friday that Mertzbach will be recognized as the victim of a "terror event."
The classification will allow the National Insurance Institute to provide welfare benefits to Mertzbach's family.
The Defense Ministry generally reserves classifying incidents as terror events for cases in which a terrorist has carried out an attack causing injury or death.
The soldier who fired eight shots at Mertzbach's vehicle, killing him and injuring two other people, believed his life was in danger, an initial IDF investigation found.
Earlier on Friday, Israel Radio reported that the IDF was investigating whether the soldier in question had violated the open fire rules.
What I don't understand is why he shot at the car and not at its tires. The soldiers are instructed to shoot a car's tires out first when that sort of thing happens. There has been no mention of anyone in the car pulling a weapons, regardless of what they thought was happening, so shooting out the tires should have ended it.
Israel Radio also reported earlier that the car was traveling at high speed (not surprising given the fear of 'Palestinian' terror attacks in the area) and that it was traveling without lights, which is apparently what aroused suspicion in the first place.
Unbelievable: IDF commander punished over 'Palestinian' riot despite investigation absolving him
A year and a half ago, I warned that the IDF's open fire rules had essentially become no fire rules. Now, the IDF has confirmed that is the case by disciplining a commander whose troops killed a 34-year old 'Palestinian' rioter because they believed - correctly, according to the IDF's own investigation - that their lives were in danger. The commander has been relieved of duty, which (as I understand it) essentially means he's been discharged from the army (Hat Tip: Norman F via comments).
The riot took place weeks ago, as Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas prepared to address the United Nations. Hours before the address, a group of PA men from Kfar Qusra near Ramallah began to attack IDF soldiers nearby with rocks.
The attack followed a PA assault on the Jewish village of Esh Kodesh. PA Arabs initially blamed the attack on Jews living in the village, but later investigation showed that Jews had not approached Kfar Qusra at any point during the day.
Soldiers responded with non-violent means of riot dispersal, primarily tear gas. However, before they could drive the rioters away, a group of attackers managed to get close to three soldiers and hurl large rocks at them from a short distance.
Fearing for their lives, the soldiers opened fire, hitting and killing 34-year-old Issam Badaran. A subsequent IDF investigation found that the soldiers’ lives had been in danger and their actions were justified.
How about that? In addition to having an army that for five years did not so much as develop a plan to rescue a captured soldier, we also have an army that doesn't allow its soldiers to defend themselves in the immediate line of fire!
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
