19 aug 2010
'Facebook soldier': I'd love to butcher Arabs
IDF soldier who posted controversial Facebook photos won't shut up; Eden Abergil tells online supporters she hates Arabs, has no regrets about posting images; 'Arab-lovers won't ruin my perfect life,' she says
Eden Abergil, the former IDF soldier who caused a worldwide stir by posting pictures of herself on Facebook posing near bound and blindfolded Palestinians, said Thursday: "I hate Arabs and wish them all the worst. I would happily kill them all, even butcher them."
Abergil has received thousands of messages on the social networking site over the past few days, some of them sympathetic and others chastising.
A virtual support group has also been established, calling itself 'We are all with Eden Abergil', and currently numbering 600 people. The members have demanded that other soldiers post pictures similar to the ones uploaded by Abergil.
The former soldier has also approved hundreds of new Facebook friend requests that have been pouring in since the story broke. She is an active participant in the debate that ensued, commenting on remarks written about the controversial photos and answering questions.
On one of the photos a commentator wrote: "Because of such a simple and innocent picture they ruined this girl's life and made of her something she is not."
Abergil responded to the comment, making it clear to the surfer that she's not taking the issue too seriously.
"No honey, they didn't ruin my life. I can't afford to have Arab-lovers ruin the perfect life I'm leading!!! I am not sorry and I do not regretttttt it."
Another surfer, Shai, responded to Abergil and claimed that she failed to grasp the meaning and implication of her actions. "It's called humanism," he wrote, prompting Abergil to respond: "I'm not humane towards murderers."
Abergil later adopted an even harsher tone, declaring: "I hate Arabs and wish them all the worst. I would gladly kill them all and even butcher them; one cannot forget their actions."
Eden Abergil, the former IDF soldier who caused a worldwide stir by posting pictures of herself on Facebook posing near bound and blindfolded Palestinians, said Thursday: "I hate Arabs and wish them all the worst. I would happily kill them all, even butcher them."
Abergil has received thousands of messages on the social networking site over the past few days, some of them sympathetic and others chastising.
A virtual support group has also been established, calling itself 'We are all with Eden Abergil', and currently numbering 600 people. The members have demanded that other soldiers post pictures similar to the ones uploaded by Abergil.
The former soldier has also approved hundreds of new Facebook friend requests that have been pouring in since the story broke. She is an active participant in the debate that ensued, commenting on remarks written about the controversial photos and answering questions.
On one of the photos a commentator wrote: "Because of such a simple and innocent picture they ruined this girl's life and made of her something she is not."
Abergil responded to the comment, making it clear to the surfer that she's not taking the issue too seriously.
"No honey, they didn't ruin my life. I can't afford to have Arab-lovers ruin the perfect life I'm leading!!! I am not sorry and I do not regretttttt it."
Another surfer, Shai, responded to Abergil and claimed that she failed to grasp the meaning and implication of her actions. "It's called humanism," he wrote, prompting Abergil to respond: "I'm not humane towards murderers."
Abergil later adopted an even harsher tone, declaring: "I hate Arabs and wish them all the worst. I would gladly kill them all and even butcher them; one cannot forget their actions."
18 aug 2010
Facebook page launched in support of Israeli soldier who posed with Palestinian detainees
A new Facebook page appeared in support of the Israeli soldier who posted pictures of herself smiling in front of bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners.
Contributors to the new page- We're all with Eden Aberjil- posted their own, similar images posing with Palestinian prisoners, together with messages of support for Ms Aberjil. One person even sent a photograph which appeared in Israeli newspapers of smiling policemen with a notorious serial rapist who was captured after escaping from prison.
The various messages of support described Ms Aberjil as an honest soldier who has become the victim of an army witch hunt after military authorities decided to strip her of her military rank and not call her up for reserve duty.
Meanwhile an Israeli group advocating an end to the occupation in the West Bank has also posted new pictures on Facebook of soldiers posing with Palestinian detainees to prove how widespread the phenomenon is.
Breaking the Silence, an organisation that collects testimonies from soldiers serving in Palestinian areas, uploaded new images including a group of soldiers posing next to a seriously wounded Palestinian lying on the floor and a picture of a soldier pointing a rifle at a prisoner stripped to his underwear, The organisation said it uploaded the images in an effort to counter the claims by Israeli military officials on Tuesday who condemned the pictures posted by the woman soldier, but claimed her actions were those of a lone soldier and did not represent the norm.
Another Israeli human rights group, Machsom Watch, which monitors the behavior of soldiers at West Bank checkpoints, linked the latest set of photographs to the immorality of 43 years of military occupation.
The fact that so many soldiers decide to upload photographs onto Facebook and similar sites has created a headache for the Israeli military censor.
Army bases have posters reading Not everyone is your friend on Facebook.
Earlier this year an operation in the West Bank was called off at the last minute when one of the soldiers revealed operational details on a social networking site.
More evidence that Israel's image has dramatically shifted
Robert Mackey of the Times did a good piece today about the former Israeli soldier's facebook photos of humiliated Palestinian prisoners. He mentions Breaking the Silence's collection of similar photos, he quotes a Palestinian on routine humiliation. He leads with the former soldier's statement that she feels like she did nothing wrong.
A commenter named M. Junaid from New York wrote:
In a pathetic but very real sense, this woman is right - within the context of a society such as Israel, there is indeed "nothing wrong" about humiliating and oppressing another people. That deterioration of any moral sense is exactly what happens in any colonizing country, whether it was France in Algeria or the British in Kenya.
The difference, of course, is that the Israeli colonial project has no interest in pulling back to pre-1967 borders. For that, we can thank AIPAC and the American public that foolishly subsidizes Israeli colonialism, no matter how wrong it is or how much it alienates the entire Muslim world.
187 readers then recommended this comment. More than any other by far. Oh wait, Fizzy in Philadelphia comes close at 111:
As a result of their "Ethno-Centric" consciousness, they [the Jewish people] have become like those who persecuted them for generations. Ultra nationalistic, egomaniacal, and militaristic. They have gained world power status at the expense of their soul as a people.
Something is stirring in the American elite consciousness... (Thanks to Peter Voskamp)
Israeli military confronts new foe: the Internet
The security obsessed Israeli military is confronting a new adversary trying to control what its own soldiers post to the Internet.
Facebook, along with YouTube and other popular sites, is turning into a formidable nuisance for the army, as young recruits in this tech-crazy country post embarrassing and potentially sensitive information online, circumventing tight military controls.
The issue exploded onto the national agenda this week when a young ex-soldier posted pictures of herself in uniform, posing in front of handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian prisoners on her Facebook page under the heading "Army The Best Time of My Life."
The controversial posting, along with a series of other recent gaffes, highlights the challenges facing Israel's high-tech military known, among other things, for its shadowy electronic-warfare units as it struggles to keep up with the ever-shifting sands of the Internet.
Last month, a video of Israeli soldiers dancing to the drunken party anthem "TiK ToK" during a patrol in the West Bank emerged on YouTube, earning them a reprimand.
Around the same time, a secret intelligence unit launched a Facebook group for its members that divulged details of the secret base where they served. The site was removed several days later after the army found out.
And, in perhaps the most serious breach, a military raid in the West Bank had to be called off earlier this year after a soldier posted details about the upcoming operation on Facebook.
Facebook flooded with photos of detainees, Cyber group supports former soldier Eden Abergil.
A new Facebook page in support of former IDF soldier and photo-poster Eden Abergil was opened on Wednesday, calling on soldiers to post similar pictures from their army service.
"We're All With Eden Abergil," the new group, was created with the following description: "Eden was an excellent soldier, and now the army is throwing her to hell and putting her on trial. Whether you agree with her or not, we will not let the army who sent her [into service] to run away from responsibility." The group also declared Abergil "the most beautiful and sexy soldier in the IDF!!!" and "one of the last of the honest people in the country."
Along with photos of soldiers, the group features photographs of police investigators with a serial rapist and the following tagline: "Policemen like to take pictures as souvenirs, too, with the criminals they captured. For example, when rapist Benny Sela was caught, the policement who found him took a picture with him in the interrogation room!""
The group features a photo album titled "Not only Eden enjoyed the army," which includes photographs from Breaking the Silence's facebook group, as well as some new ones. One photo depicts four female soldiers pointing their guns at a woman who is kneeling and blindfolded, with her hands tied behind her back. Another shows a female soldier posing with a tied-up Palestinian prisoner.
A Facebook member, writing under the pseudonym "Kahane's Legacy" wrote that "we can not forget one thing: These are not just prisoners. These are not just innocent people from the street; they are terrorists who were arrested a few minutes before trying to murder these soldiers." Another commenter, Mohamad Jaber wrote: "A smart, brave and strong army does not do such things. You should be embarassed! People with out hearts - what is enjoyable about this picture?"
One commenter wrote: "These innocent pictures made the whole world hysterical? You don't have anything to do - there isn't poverty and messes in other countries?"
Members of the group also added photos from the Abu Ghraib scandal, with the caption: "This is what Americans do to Iraqi soldiers - Guys, can we really compare?!! Eden only took a picture next to them - she didn't humiliate them or anything." The photos are particularly relevant, as Abergil has been compared in the foreign press to female American soldier Lynndie England, who was implicated in the incident in the Iraqi prison.
Contributors to the new page- We're all with Eden Aberjil- posted their own, similar images posing with Palestinian prisoners, together with messages of support for Ms Aberjil. One person even sent a photograph which appeared in Israeli newspapers of smiling policemen with a notorious serial rapist who was captured after escaping from prison.
The various messages of support described Ms Aberjil as an honest soldier who has become the victim of an army witch hunt after military authorities decided to strip her of her military rank and not call her up for reserve duty.
Meanwhile an Israeli group advocating an end to the occupation in the West Bank has also posted new pictures on Facebook of soldiers posing with Palestinian detainees to prove how widespread the phenomenon is.
Breaking the Silence, an organisation that collects testimonies from soldiers serving in Palestinian areas, uploaded new images including a group of soldiers posing next to a seriously wounded Palestinian lying on the floor and a picture of a soldier pointing a rifle at a prisoner stripped to his underwear, The organisation said it uploaded the images in an effort to counter the claims by Israeli military officials on Tuesday who condemned the pictures posted by the woman soldier, but claimed her actions were those of a lone soldier and did not represent the norm.
Another Israeli human rights group, Machsom Watch, which monitors the behavior of soldiers at West Bank checkpoints, linked the latest set of photographs to the immorality of 43 years of military occupation.
The fact that so many soldiers decide to upload photographs onto Facebook and similar sites has created a headache for the Israeli military censor.
Army bases have posters reading Not everyone is your friend on Facebook.
Earlier this year an operation in the West Bank was called off at the last minute when one of the soldiers revealed operational details on a social networking site.
More evidence that Israel's image has dramatically shifted
Robert Mackey of the Times did a good piece today about the former Israeli soldier's facebook photos of humiliated Palestinian prisoners. He mentions Breaking the Silence's collection of similar photos, he quotes a Palestinian on routine humiliation. He leads with the former soldier's statement that she feels like she did nothing wrong.
A commenter named M. Junaid from New York wrote:
In a pathetic but very real sense, this woman is right - within the context of a society such as Israel, there is indeed "nothing wrong" about humiliating and oppressing another people. That deterioration of any moral sense is exactly what happens in any colonizing country, whether it was France in Algeria or the British in Kenya.
The difference, of course, is that the Israeli colonial project has no interest in pulling back to pre-1967 borders. For that, we can thank AIPAC and the American public that foolishly subsidizes Israeli colonialism, no matter how wrong it is or how much it alienates the entire Muslim world.
187 readers then recommended this comment. More than any other by far. Oh wait, Fizzy in Philadelphia comes close at 111:
As a result of their "Ethno-Centric" consciousness, they [the Jewish people] have become like those who persecuted them for generations. Ultra nationalistic, egomaniacal, and militaristic. They have gained world power status at the expense of their soul as a people.
Something is stirring in the American elite consciousness... (Thanks to Peter Voskamp)
Israeli military confronts new foe: the Internet
The security obsessed Israeli military is confronting a new adversary trying to control what its own soldiers post to the Internet.
Facebook, along with YouTube and other popular sites, is turning into a formidable nuisance for the army, as young recruits in this tech-crazy country post embarrassing and potentially sensitive information online, circumventing tight military controls.
The issue exploded onto the national agenda this week when a young ex-soldier posted pictures of herself in uniform, posing in front of handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian prisoners on her Facebook page under the heading "Army The Best Time of My Life."
The controversial posting, along with a series of other recent gaffes, highlights the challenges facing Israel's high-tech military known, among other things, for its shadowy electronic-warfare units as it struggles to keep up with the ever-shifting sands of the Internet.
Last month, a video of Israeli soldiers dancing to the drunken party anthem "TiK ToK" during a patrol in the West Bank emerged on YouTube, earning them a reprimand.
Around the same time, a secret intelligence unit launched a Facebook group for its members that divulged details of the secret base where they served. The site was removed several days later after the army found out.
And, in perhaps the most serious breach, a military raid in the West Bank had to be called off earlier this year after a soldier posted details about the upcoming operation on Facebook.
Facebook flooded with photos of detainees, Cyber group supports former soldier Eden Abergil.
A new Facebook page in support of former IDF soldier and photo-poster Eden Abergil was opened on Wednesday, calling on soldiers to post similar pictures from their army service.
"We're All With Eden Abergil," the new group, was created with the following description: "Eden was an excellent soldier, and now the army is throwing her to hell and putting her on trial. Whether you agree with her or not, we will not let the army who sent her [into service] to run away from responsibility." The group also declared Abergil "the most beautiful and sexy soldier in the IDF!!!" and "one of the last of the honest people in the country."
Along with photos of soldiers, the group features photographs of police investigators with a serial rapist and the following tagline: "Policemen like to take pictures as souvenirs, too, with the criminals they captured. For example, when rapist Benny Sela was caught, the policement who found him took a picture with him in the interrogation room!""
The group features a photo album titled "Not only Eden enjoyed the army," which includes photographs from Breaking the Silence's facebook group, as well as some new ones. One photo depicts four female soldiers pointing their guns at a woman who is kneeling and blindfolded, with her hands tied behind her back. Another shows a female soldier posing with a tied-up Palestinian prisoner.
A Facebook member, writing under the pseudonym "Kahane's Legacy" wrote that "we can not forget one thing: These are not just prisoners. These are not just innocent people from the street; they are terrorists who were arrested a few minutes before trying to murder these soldiers." Another commenter, Mohamad Jaber wrote: "A smart, brave and strong army does not do such things. You should be embarassed! People with out hearts - what is enjoyable about this picture?"
One commenter wrote: "These innocent pictures made the whole world hysterical? You don't have anything to do - there isn't poverty and messes in other countries?"
Members of the group also added photos from the Abu Ghraib scandal, with the caption: "This is what Americans do to Iraqi soldiers - Guys, can we really compare?!! Eden only took a picture next to them - she didn't humiliate them or anything." The photos are particularly relevant, as Abergil has been compared in the foreign press to female American soldier Lynndie England, who was implicated in the incident in the Iraqi prison.
17 aug 2010
Israeli says she didn't humiliate Arab on Facebook, this is something that happens every day in the army
A former Israeli soldier who posted photos on Facebook of herself in uniform smiling beside bound and blindfolded Palestinian prisoners said Tuesday her actions were "thoughtless." But she insisted she did not humiliate the detainees and said she was surprised the pictures were viewed as offensive.
Eden Aberjil struck a defensive tone in a pair of radio interviews, claiming that she did not do anything wrong and that similar things take place "every day" in the army.
Both the Israeli army and Palestinian officials condemned Aberjil over the photographs - one of which was accompanied by an exchange with a friend including jokes and sexual innuendoes. Because she has completed her mandatory service, however, it's unclear whether she will face any disciplinary action.
Speaking to Israel's Army Radio station, Aberjil called her decision to post the photos, taken in 2008 near the Gaza Strip, "thoughtless and innocent." But she added: "I still don't understand what wasn't OK."
"There was no statement in the photos about violence, about disrespect, about anything that would hurt that person. I just had my picture taken with someone in the background," she said. "When I understood that so many people were hurt by those pictures, I removed them."
In a separate interview, Aberjil lashed out at the international uproar over the pictures, which were vaguely reminiscent of the snapshots taken in 2003 by American soldiers at an Iraqi prison showing Iraqi detainees, humiliated and terrified. In contrast, the Israeli pictures showed no signs of physical abuse or coercion, and Aberjil denounced any comparisons.
"I did not humiliate those detainees. I didn't hit them, I didn't act toward them unpleasantly. It's completely different than the American soldier some are trying to compare me to," she told Israel Radio.
She said she was shocked by the international interest in the story, adding she had received calls from European and American media outlets. She attacked her local critics, saying they were more concerned about international criticism than protecting a soldier who bravely served her country.
"This is something that happens every day in the army, especially at bases like this," she said, without giving evidence. She called the army's criticism of her a "disgrace," saying she "endangered her life for the country."
Contacted by The Associated Press, Aberjil said she did not want to speak to the international media.
Palestinians are routinely handcuffed and blindfolded when they are arrested to stop them from trying to flee.
One photo showed Aberjil sitting beside a blindfolded Palestinian man slumped against a concrete barrier, while she leans toward him with her face upturned. Another shows her smiling at the camera with three blindfolded Palestinian men behind her.
The photos, taken in 2008 near the Gaza Strip, drew sharp criticism from the Israeli military, pro-Palestinian advocacy groups and Palestinian officials.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib condemned the photos and said they pointed to a deeper malaise - how Israel's 43-year-old occupation of Palestinians has affected the Israelis who enforce it.
"This shows the mentality of the occupier," Khatib said, "to be proud of humiliating Palestinians. The occupation is unjust, immoral and, as these pictures show, corrupting."
Yehuda Shaul of Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli combat officers that criticizes Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, said the pictures showed how Israel's occupation of the Palestinians has become "so routine ... you lose the ability to see them as human beings."
Capt. Barak Raz, an Israeli military spokesman, said the pictures amount to "a serious violation of our morals and our ethical code."
Although her former commanders have been informed of the pictures, it is not clear whether the army can punish Aberjil because she has finished her compulsory military service.
Eden Aberjil struck a defensive tone in a pair of radio interviews, claiming that she did not do anything wrong and that similar things take place "every day" in the army.
Both the Israeli army and Palestinian officials condemned Aberjil over the photographs - one of which was accompanied by an exchange with a friend including jokes and sexual innuendoes. Because she has completed her mandatory service, however, it's unclear whether she will face any disciplinary action.
Speaking to Israel's Army Radio station, Aberjil called her decision to post the photos, taken in 2008 near the Gaza Strip, "thoughtless and innocent." But she added: "I still don't understand what wasn't OK."
"There was no statement in the photos about violence, about disrespect, about anything that would hurt that person. I just had my picture taken with someone in the background," she said. "When I understood that so many people were hurt by those pictures, I removed them."
In a separate interview, Aberjil lashed out at the international uproar over the pictures, which were vaguely reminiscent of the snapshots taken in 2003 by American soldiers at an Iraqi prison showing Iraqi detainees, humiliated and terrified. In contrast, the Israeli pictures showed no signs of physical abuse or coercion, and Aberjil denounced any comparisons.
"I did not humiliate those detainees. I didn't hit them, I didn't act toward them unpleasantly. It's completely different than the American soldier some are trying to compare me to," she told Israel Radio.
She said she was shocked by the international interest in the story, adding she had received calls from European and American media outlets. She attacked her local critics, saying they were more concerned about international criticism than protecting a soldier who bravely served her country.
"This is something that happens every day in the army, especially at bases like this," she said, without giving evidence. She called the army's criticism of her a "disgrace," saying she "endangered her life for the country."
Contacted by The Associated Press, Aberjil said she did not want to speak to the international media.
Palestinians are routinely handcuffed and blindfolded when they are arrested to stop them from trying to flee.
One photo showed Aberjil sitting beside a blindfolded Palestinian man slumped against a concrete barrier, while she leans toward him with her face upturned. Another shows her smiling at the camera with three blindfolded Palestinian men behind her.
The photos, taken in 2008 near the Gaza Strip, drew sharp criticism from the Israeli military, pro-Palestinian advocacy groups and Palestinian officials.
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ghassan Khatib condemned the photos and said they pointed to a deeper malaise - how Israel's 43-year-old occupation of Palestinians has affected the Israelis who enforce it.
"This shows the mentality of the occupier," Khatib said, "to be proud of humiliating Palestinians. The occupation is unjust, immoral and, as these pictures show, corrupting."
Yehuda Shaul of Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli combat officers that criticizes Israeli policies toward the Palestinians, said the pictures showed how Israel's occupation of the Palestinians has become "so routine ... you lose the ability to see them as human beings."
Capt. Barak Raz, an Israeli military spokesman, said the pictures amount to "a serious violation of our morals and our ethical code."
Although her former commanders have been informed of the pictures, it is not clear whether the army can punish Aberjil because she has finished her compulsory military service.
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Breaking The Silence: Photos Of soldiers Posing With detainees Are The Norm Not Exception
The Israeli Human Rights group, Breaking the Silence, released more photos on facebook of Israeli soldiers posing next to detained Palestinians.
ImageThe group says that this behavior is common among Israeli soldiers that serve in the occupied Palestinian territories. The media storm on the issue started on Monday when Eden Abergil, An Israeli ex-soldier, published a number of photos in her Facebook showing her with handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian workers who were detained by the army near the Gaza borders. The photos were published with the title of IDF the best time of my life. One of the photos had a comment by Abergil friend saying That looks really sexy for you," Abergil's response was: "I wonder if he is on Facebook too I'll have to tag him in the photo." The Israeli online Haaretz reported. The Israeli military issued a statement deeming Abergil action as "base and crude". The army said Abergil action is an exception case and does not represent a norm. It is something more common and wide spread in the military, because the IDF spokesperson tried to say that is an exceptional case, we kind of just from our collection sent out those photos that talk about the same issue, to show and tell people this is more common than we think it is.Yehuda Shaull, from Breaking the Silence, told PNN via phone. The photos were taken in good will, they had no statement in them." Eden Abergil told the army radio today. Those photos come out from a very basic place that is when you find yourself as a soldier getting used of seeing handcuffed Palestinians in a way when you serve in the occupied territories and you are surrounded by those images you get used of it and very fast you forget that they are human beings like you and that's why you take those photos and not feel that they are smoothing wrong. Shaull told PNN. Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that collects testimonies of soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories during the Second Intifadah. Facebook scandal: More soldiers' photos published Additional photographs show IDF soldiers, Border Guard police officers posing next to bound Palestinians, Arab bodies; Breaking the Silence group: This is part of broad phenomenon, many more photos out there. The Breaking the Silence organization published Tuesday more photographs of IDF soldiers posing next to bound and cuffed Palestinian detainees. |
Some of the images show troops posing with the bodies of killed Palestinians. In some cases, soldiers smile to the camera as the picture is shot.
The group published the photos as part of a new Facebook campaign dubbed "the norm denied by Avi Benayahu," countering the IDF spokesman's claim that such photographs are unusual.
The campaign follows the publication of controversial Facebook photos Monday showing an IDF female soldier standing next to cuffed and blindfolded Palestinians.
"The new campaign came into being in the wake of the publication of (soldier) Eden Abergil's photos, in order to show the prevalence of this phenomenon among IDF ranks," Breaking the Silence said. "The photographs that had been published are merely the tip of the iceberg. Many people possess thousands of photos, but only a small part is being published we turned Eden into a scapegoat, while the norm is what needs to be targeted."
'Occupation at fault'
"This norm is wide-ranging and was created as result of the occupation and the daily control over the civilian population, one of the group's founders, Yehuda Shaul, told Ynet.
"Every soldier becomes used to seeing cuffed and blindfolded Palestinians as a matter of routine, and by seeing it so often, these troops become blind to the fact these are human beings."
The amazement expressed by the Israeli public following the photos' publication attests to "the immense gap between our self-image as a society and our image s reflected in the mirror and in the photographs," Shaul said.
"We think the time has come to put an end to the silence, which facilitates the culture of denial," he said.
The IDF Spokesman's' Office slammed Monday the photos published by Abergil. The soldier later said she was informed that the army will be dismissing her from reserve service and stripping her of her ranks.
"The army let me down," Abergil told Ynet Monday. "I risked my life and was wounded and now I'm sorry that I served in such army."
facebook: Capt. Barak Raz of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit responds on video
Capt. Barak Raz of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit responds to the disgraceful behavior of the former IDF soldier who uploaded shameful pictures to her facebook profile.
The pictures show her posing inappropriately next to Palestinians who had been arrested. The behavior displayed by this former soldier is not only disgraceful but in total opposition to the values and ethical code upheld by the Israel Defense Forces.
'I don't see anything wrong with Facebook images of Palestinian detainees'
Former IDF soldier's pictures, depicting her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered, caused a global media storm.
There's nothing wrong with the picture I uploaded to Facebook depicting handcuffed Palestinian detainees, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier told Army Radio on Tuesday, after causing a media storm over the controversial images.
Photographs uploaded by Eden Abergil from Ashdod and labeled "IDF the best time of my life," and made public earlier in the week depicted her 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."
Because Abergil 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.
"I still don't understand what's wrong," Abergil told Army Radio on Thursday, saying that the "pictures were taken in good will, there was no statement in them."
The former IDF soldier said the pictures, which she said were of Gazans who had been arrested while attempting to crossover into Israel, were meant to depict a "military experience," and were not intended to injure the detainees.
During the Army Radio interview, Abergil repeatedly said that it had never occurred to her that "the picture would be problematic," asking interviewer Ilana Dayan whether the media asked for detainees permission when they film 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."
On Monday, the IDF spokesman issued its response to the photographs, saying that "on the face of it the behavior exhibited by the soldier is base and crude."
The head of the Public Committee Against Torture, Ishai Menuchin, also commented, saying that "these terrible photographs reflect a norm in the way Palestinians are viewed, as an object and not as humans. It is an attitude that ignores their feelings as humans and their individual rights."
Ex soldier from Ashdod: 'I actually took care of the detainees'
Ex-soldier from Ashdod who caused worldwide stir by posting photos of herself posing with cuffed Palestinian detainees taken during her army service says she received death threats on Facebook. 'The IDF let me down, I wish I never served in such an army,' she says. Meanwhile, PA planning to take legal action against her.
Eden, the ex-soldier from Ashdod who posted photos from her time in the IDF posing next to cuffed Palestinian detainees on her Facebook page is shocked by the backlash the incident prompted. "I received death threats from all over the world on Facebook," she told Ynet. "I'm sorry if anyone got offended, I actually took care of the detainees. The IDF has let me down profoundly. I wish I never served in such an army."
The photos were taken in the Gaza Strip where Eden was stationed during her IDF service. They caused a stir around the world and were reported on by CNN, Sky News as well as British newspapers such as the Guardian. "It's unbelievable that so many people are talking about me," she said. "I find it astounding that there are so many people who want peace and I'm the one ruining it for them. I got loads of death threats, I'm not scared, I know I didn't do anything wrong."
The IDF Spokesman's Unit issued a statement in response to the incident describing the ex-soldier's behavior as shameful. Eden claimed that she was told by the IDF she will not be called for reserve duty and will be stripped of her ranks. "I'm very disappointed with the IDF, the army is ungrateful. I risked my life, got injured, I was a model soldier, and now I wish I never served in this army."
She explained the IDF's response by saying that "the army is making the soldiers look bad and the country look great so that Obama won't get pissed off. As far as I'm concerned we're not even an independent state, people are afraid of just pictures. I'm sorry this is the way my country is."
The ex-soldier, who had her picture taken while posing near cuffed and blindfolded detainees said that "we always treated the Palestinians well, we always provided them with food and drink and would laugh with them. We never cursed, spat on or touched them. The few photos I put on Facebook are part of my military experience, it was innocent. People blew it way out of proportion. I have respect for all human beings, I served the country."
Jawad Amawi, director of legal affairs for the Palestinian Authority's prisoners ministry threatened to take legal action against the ex-soldier and said: "She did this act while she was in military service, so in retrospect the Israeli occupation is responsible for her acts. This is a breach of international law, clearly a breach of human rights."
The group published the photos as part of a new Facebook campaign dubbed "the norm denied by Avi Benayahu," countering the IDF spokesman's claim that such photographs are unusual.
The campaign follows the publication of controversial Facebook photos Monday showing an IDF female soldier standing next to cuffed and blindfolded Palestinians.
"The new campaign came into being in the wake of the publication of (soldier) Eden Abergil's photos, in order to show the prevalence of this phenomenon among IDF ranks," Breaking the Silence said. "The photographs that had been published are merely the tip of the iceberg. Many people possess thousands of photos, but only a small part is being published we turned Eden into a scapegoat, while the norm is what needs to be targeted."
'Occupation at fault'
"This norm is wide-ranging and was created as result of the occupation and the daily control over the civilian population, one of the group's founders, Yehuda Shaul, told Ynet.
"Every soldier becomes used to seeing cuffed and blindfolded Palestinians as a matter of routine, and by seeing it so often, these troops become blind to the fact these are human beings."
The amazement expressed by the Israeli public following the photos' publication attests to "the immense gap between our self-image as a society and our image s reflected in the mirror and in the photographs," Shaul said.
"We think the time has come to put an end to the silence, which facilitates the culture of denial," he said.
The IDF Spokesman's' Office slammed Monday the photos published by Abergil. The soldier later said she was informed that the army will be dismissing her from reserve service and stripping her of her ranks.
"The army let me down," Abergil told Ynet Monday. "I risked my life and was wounded and now I'm sorry that I served in such army."
facebook: Capt. Barak Raz of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit responds on video
Capt. Barak Raz of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit responds to the disgraceful behavior of the former IDF soldier who uploaded shameful pictures to her facebook profile.
The pictures show her posing inappropriately next to Palestinians who had been arrested. The behavior displayed by this former soldier is not only disgraceful but in total opposition to the values and ethical code upheld by the Israel Defense Forces.
'I don't see anything wrong with Facebook images of Palestinian detainees'
Former IDF soldier's pictures, depicting her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered, caused a global media storm.
There's nothing wrong with the picture I uploaded to Facebook depicting handcuffed Palestinian detainees, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier told Army Radio on Tuesday, after causing a media storm over the controversial images.
Photographs uploaded by Eden Abergil from Ashdod and labeled "IDF the best time of my life," and made public earlier in the week depicted her 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."
Because Abergil 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.
"I still don't understand what's wrong," Abergil told Army Radio on Thursday, saying that the "pictures were taken in good will, there was no statement in them."
The former IDF soldier said the pictures, which she said were of Gazans who had been arrested while attempting to crossover into Israel, were meant to depict a "military experience," and were not intended to injure the detainees.
During the Army Radio interview, Abergil repeatedly said that it had never occurred to her that "the picture would be problematic," asking interviewer Ilana Dayan whether the media asked for detainees permission when they film 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."
On Monday, the IDF spokesman issued its response to the photographs, saying that "on the face of it the behavior exhibited by the soldier is base and crude."
The head of the Public Committee Against Torture, Ishai Menuchin, also commented, saying that "these terrible photographs reflect a norm in the way Palestinians are viewed, as an object and not as humans. It is an attitude that ignores their feelings as humans and their individual rights."
Ex soldier from Ashdod: 'I actually took care of the detainees'
Ex-soldier from Ashdod who caused worldwide stir by posting photos of herself posing with cuffed Palestinian detainees taken during her army service says she received death threats on Facebook. 'The IDF let me down, I wish I never served in such an army,' she says. Meanwhile, PA planning to take legal action against her.
Eden, the ex-soldier from Ashdod who posted photos from her time in the IDF posing next to cuffed Palestinian detainees on her Facebook page is shocked by the backlash the incident prompted. "I received death threats from all over the world on Facebook," she told Ynet. "I'm sorry if anyone got offended, I actually took care of the detainees. The IDF has let me down profoundly. I wish I never served in such an army."
The photos were taken in the Gaza Strip where Eden was stationed during her IDF service. They caused a stir around the world and were reported on by CNN, Sky News as well as British newspapers such as the Guardian. "It's unbelievable that so many people are talking about me," she said. "I find it astounding that there are so many people who want peace and I'm the one ruining it for them. I got loads of death threats, I'm not scared, I know I didn't do anything wrong."
The IDF Spokesman's Unit issued a statement in response to the incident describing the ex-soldier's behavior as shameful. Eden claimed that she was told by the IDF she will not be called for reserve duty and will be stripped of her ranks. "I'm very disappointed with the IDF, the army is ungrateful. I risked my life, got injured, I was a model soldier, and now I wish I never served in this army."
She explained the IDF's response by saying that "the army is making the soldiers look bad and the country look great so that Obama won't get pissed off. As far as I'm concerned we're not even an independent state, people are afraid of just pictures. I'm sorry this is the way my country is."
The ex-soldier, who had her picture taken while posing near cuffed and blindfolded detainees said that "we always treated the Palestinians well, we always provided them with food and drink and would laugh with them. We never cursed, spat on or touched them. The few photos I put on Facebook are part of my military experience, it was innocent. People blew it way out of proportion. I have respect for all human beings, I served the country."
Jawad Amawi, director of legal affairs for the Palestinian Authority's prisoners ministry threatened to take legal action against the ex-soldier and said: "She did this act while she was in military service, so in retrospect the Israeli occupation is responsible for her acts. This is a breach of international law, clearly a breach of human rights."
15 aug 2010
Child Molesting Jew Rabbi Gets Special Kosher Foods In Jail
"They are bending over backwards to help this molester,"
HARD TO DIGEST: Disgraced Rabbi Baruch Lebovits gets special food privileges at Rikers, a year after The Post exposed a Manhattan jailhouse bar mitzvah for an inmate's son.
It's unholy.
Perv rabbi gets special jail meals
It's unholy.
A rabbi convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy has his kosher meals picked up from a Queens store by an on-duty jail captain.
Baruch Lebovits, a once-respected Satmar rabbi from Brooklyn, gets the special food brought straight to his Rikers Island cell, even though the jail already provides kosher dishes for its Jewish prisoners.
Apparently, they aren't blessed enough for Lebovits, 59, who has been moaning for months that he couldn't eat the food because it hadn't had proper rabbinical supervision, sources said.
Lebovits' adherence to holy law apparently didn't preclude repeatedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old classmate of his son, a heinous crime for which he was sentenced in March to up to 32 years in prison.
The Brooklyn rabbi is on Rikers awaiting trial in another sex abuse case.
On Thursday, a Rikers jail captain was ordered to pick up $60 worth of glatt kosher canned meals for the sicko, including Salisbury steak, stuffed shells, cheese ravioli and barbecued chicken wings from Alle Processing in Maspeth, Queens, an e-mail obtained by The Post shows.
The company offered to mail the food, but because of a delay, the captain went in person to pick up the package.
Lebovits' special daily diet also includes dry cereal, a box of matzo, four ounces of kosher grape juice and fresh fruit and veggies -- provided to him uncut, lest they were touched by a knife that cut non-kosher food.
Paulette Johnson, the Correction Department's head of food services, approved the arrangement.
Lebovits' own influential Satmar rabbi, Moshe David Neiderman, played a key role in convincing jail officials.
"This is not a privilege or an accommodation -- it's a right," said Neiderman, president of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg.
"Any Jewish prisoner has the religious right to eat food that is appropriate according his religious traditions."
But a Jewish advocate said: "That's a big chutzpah."
"They are bending over backwards to help this molester," said the advocate, who asked to remain anonymous.
"None of the other Jewish inmates can get that same food," he said.
Correction officials say they're just following protocol.
"The department provides glatt kosher meals consistent with its requirements," said spokesman Stephen Morello.
This latest scandal comes a year after The Post exposed correction chaplain Rabbi Leib Glanz as wielding such power over the city detention center in lower Manhattan that he allowed a convict to hold his son's bar mitzvah there.
Glanz and a department chief resigned in wake of the reports.
FDNY chaplain Rabbi Joseph Potasnik criticized Lebovits' deal, saying, "There's no reason to give special food to one inmate.
HARD TO DIGEST: Disgraced Rabbi Baruch Lebovits gets special food privileges at Rikers, a year after The Post exposed a Manhattan jailhouse bar mitzvah for an inmate's son.
It's unholy.
Perv rabbi gets special jail meals
It's unholy.
A rabbi convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy has his kosher meals picked up from a Queens store by an on-duty jail captain.
Baruch Lebovits, a once-respected Satmar rabbi from Brooklyn, gets the special food brought straight to his Rikers Island cell, even though the jail already provides kosher dishes for its Jewish prisoners.
Apparently, they aren't blessed enough for Lebovits, 59, who has been moaning for months that he couldn't eat the food because it hadn't had proper rabbinical supervision, sources said.
Lebovits' adherence to holy law apparently didn't preclude repeatedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old classmate of his son, a heinous crime for which he was sentenced in March to up to 32 years in prison.
The Brooklyn rabbi is on Rikers awaiting trial in another sex abuse case.
On Thursday, a Rikers jail captain was ordered to pick up $60 worth of glatt kosher canned meals for the sicko, including Salisbury steak, stuffed shells, cheese ravioli and barbecued chicken wings from Alle Processing in Maspeth, Queens, an e-mail obtained by The Post shows.
The company offered to mail the food, but because of a delay, the captain went in person to pick up the package.
Lebovits' special daily diet also includes dry cereal, a box of matzo, four ounces of kosher grape juice and fresh fruit and veggies -- provided to him uncut, lest they were touched by a knife that cut non-kosher food.
Paulette Johnson, the Correction Department's head of food services, approved the arrangement.
Lebovits' own influential Satmar rabbi, Moshe David Neiderman, played a key role in convincing jail officials.
"This is not a privilege or an accommodation -- it's a right," said Neiderman, president of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg.
"Any Jewish prisoner has the religious right to eat food that is appropriate according his religious traditions."
But a Jewish advocate said: "That's a big chutzpah."
"They are bending over backwards to help this molester," said the advocate, who asked to remain anonymous.
"None of the other Jewish inmates can get that same food," he said.
Correction officials say they're just following protocol.
"The department provides glatt kosher meals consistent with its requirements," said spokesman Stephen Morello.
This latest scandal comes a year after The Post exposed correction chaplain Rabbi Leib Glanz as wielding such power over the city detention center in lower Manhattan that he allowed a convict to hold his son's bar mitzvah there.
Glanz and a department chief resigned in wake of the reports.
FDNY chaplain Rabbi Joseph Potasnik criticized Lebovits' deal, saying, "There's no reason to give special food to one inmate.
