Can an interview with a former Israeli soldier about his first-hand experiences result in the spreading of falsehoods about Israel?
One might be left asking this question after reading an article by Business Insider titled, A young man left London to join Israel’s army but now believes the nation’s treatment of Palestinians is morally wrong. The individual is Joel Carmel, who served in the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli defense body tasked with administering large parts of the West Bank. Julian Kossoff’s piece focuses on what Carmel describes as his growing angst over having to compromise his values – the same principles that induced him to move to Israel in the first place – in order to fulfill his duties.
Carmel’s testimony is powerful – he tells his truth. However, there is no explanation in the article of the inherent difficulties associated with the day-to-day management of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which includes the IDF’s continued presence in the West Bank.
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Palestinian men “crushed in tunnel cages”
One morning at a check point near Bethlehem where Palestinian workers had gathered to gain entry into Israel, Carmel witnessed what he perceived to be an upsetting scene:
“You’ve just got to be there to feel it,” he said. “Thousands of young Palestinian men crushed into tunnel cages on the way to the security check. People forced to climb on top of one another — that was when I started to think, ‘There’s something wrong here.’
This begs the question: Why, if the description is accurate, would Israeli soldiers act in such a manner?
A bit of context is warranted.
In 1995, Bethlehem was transferred from Israeli to Palestinian control in accordance with the landmark Oslo Accords, the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement signed two years earlier that established the Palestinian Authority (PA) and granted it gradual autonomy over parts of the West Bank.
Unfortunately, once under PA rule, Bethlehem and its surroundings became marred by horrific unrest.
Bethlehem became a base for terrorist cells and the launching pad for attacks on Israeli citizens. The city’s proximity to Jerusalem made Israelis living in the capital especially vulnerable to Palestinian terrorism.
The mounting casualties forced the IDF to repeatedly enter Bethlehem to track down and arrest perpetrators. Israeli forces also worked there to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure. Not only were numerous suicide bombings thwarted, security forces also regularly uncovered mortar shells and components needed for the production of more sophisticated rockets.
In response, and for various other security reasons, Israel began constructing the barrier that envelops Bethlehem. The measure contributed to sharply reducing the number of Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis.
Related Reading: Lessons From Palestinian Rule Over Bethlehem
Soldiers “walking barefoot” through the Caves of the Patriarchs mosque
Kossoff’s article highlights another critical moment for Carmel: that is, a ‘visit’ by him and other young soldiers to the mosque located at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron:
When Carmel and his fellow trainee officers arrived, he said he was shocked when they did not remove their shoes to pay even minimal respect to Muslim beliefs. “I was tramping around in my military boots in their mosque,” he said.
Excluded from the piece is the fact that Hebron has long been a flashpoint in the conflict.
From 2011-2012, the time of Carmel’s military experience, many security incidents occurred in the area.
Among them:
- Three Israeli children were injured when Palestinians from the Casbah threw stones at a playground in the Avraham Avinu neighborhood.
- A 60-year-old Israeli man was struck by a boulder thrown by a Palestinian while he was bathing in the Abraham spring at Tel Rumeida.
- An Israeli resident, Asher Palmer, 25, and his infant son Yonatan were killed in a Palestinian stone-throwing attack.
It’s also worth noting that Jews entering the Temple Mount, Judaism’s most sacred site, traditionally remove their shoes – as do Muslims in a mosque – before praying at the holy of holies. But IDF soldiers, most of whom are Jewish, enter the sacred site with their boots on, exactly like when they go into a mosque.
That none of this information or any number of other examples of attacks near Hebron, the cradle of Jewish civilization, were included in Business Insider’s piece is a grave omission.
Related Reading: Five Facts About Hebron You Won’t Learn on a Breaking the Silence Tour
Mapping operation madness
Then there is the ‘mapping operation,’ the moment when Carmel decided he wanted to leave the Israeli military:
He said he rode along to a Palestinian village in an IDF jeep and watched the driver strike the trash cans outside each home, leaving a trail of stinking rubbish and rotting vegetables in the street.
They banged on the door of a Palestinian family, he said, and had the bleary-eyed parents and children come to the door and answer a list of questions. Carmel said he tried to smile at a small Palestinian boy, but he just glared back. The process revealed nothing — it rarely did, according to Carmel — and had no obvious military objective.
As the soldiers exited the village, Palestinians on rooftops threw paint bombs at their jeeps, he said, adding that an Israeli soldier stuck his gun out the window and fired rubber-tipped bullets wildly.
While the initial behavior of some of the soldiers runs totally contrary to IDF guidelines, the description of the overall scenario implies that Carmel and his comrades were dispatched simply to harass Palestinian civilians, when, in fact, there may have been a legitimate reason to question the family.
In every military, soldiers on the ground are often not privy to all of the relevant information. It could very well be that members of this family were suspected of involvement in some type of illegal activity, whether terrorism or otherwise. Additionally, they could have provided valuable information to the IDF without Carmel even knowing it. The point is that the true nature of the encounter is unknown. What we do know is that the Jenin District where Carmel served has been a hub for terrorists.
Related Reading: Do You Know Your Area A, B and C?
Despite the constant threat of terrorist attacks, COGAT – in which Carmel served – approved, supported or initiated 328 different projects that benefited Palestinians between 2011 and the first half of 2012. Carmel almost undoubtedly witnessed some them, including:
- Road repairs
- Installation of and upgrades to electricity infrastructure
- Development of industrial parks
- The construction of water pipes and sewage disposal facilities
Moreover, many other projects aimed at improving Palestinian lives in Jenin were rejected by the Palestinian Authority.
Interview – Background = Innuendo
Julian Kossof’s interview with Joseph Carmel presents only one vantage point, even though journalistic standards demand that both sides of any equation be explored. By painting the IDF as immoral without providing background and historical context, Business Insider has failed to fulfill its duty to present the full picture of a complex issue.
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