Michael Dickson, May 4th 2014
The air
hangs heavy in Israel on Yom HaZikaron.
Poignantly,
Israel commemorates the re-establishment of the State with the pain of
memorializing thousands of fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. The sirens
wail and the nation comes to a halt. It’s a collective tribute to those heroes
who have fallen so that we Israelis may live in freedom. And thus, Yom
HaZikaron flows into our Independence Day celebrations.
This
year, as Israelis pay tribute to their servicemen and women, a very different
event will be taking place on Independence Day in London. Yachad – the British
version of lobby group J-Street – together with the New Israel Fund, will be hosting “Breaking the
Silence”, a notorious anti-IDF group. No one serious would suggest
that Israel is beyond criticism but this is strange yet deliberate timing.
Should we surmise that if Israel-bashing is a year-round sport, why should this
night be different from any other?
 |
| Israeli soldiers stand still as a siren sounds nationwide during a ceremony marking Memorial Day at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. Photo by REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun |
If past experience
is anything to go by, the audience will be treated to a flurry of half-truths
and accusations aimed solely at blackening the name of Israeli soldiers.
Indeed, “Breaking the Silence” has made its name by promoting a distorted and
unfair portrayal of the IDF via its website and tours.
Breaking the Silence is
hypocritical about its aims and even its name. If it wanted to present a true
picture of the IDF, it would not blatantly omit the context of terrorism, the
goals of Israel’s enemies, the deadly rockets fired from Gaza. It would not omit
how the enemy hides behind Palestinian civilians and attacks Israeli civilians.
It would raise awareness about the moral dilemmas the IDF faces. But instead,
it omits this vital context in its reports, which often consist of anonymous,
unverified testimony. Instead, their representatives embark on worldwide campus
tours, meet with political leaders and speak at the UN in order to lobby and
punish Israel.
There isn’t even any “silence”
to “break.” Israel is an open and democratic society that regularly criticizes
its own actions, and anyone is free to present complaints and findings to
government officials and the courts.
Funders of Breaking
the Silence include Christian Aid and OXFAM,
who have both launched vitriolic anti-Israel campaigns, as well as the European
Union, which has funded them for years to the tune of hundreds of thousands of
dollars in order to “contribute to an atmosphere of human rights respect and
values” and “to promote prospects for peace talks and initiatives.”
The EU is deceiving
taxpayers if it is telling them that the funds used to support this
organization help promote peace. (It’s worth reading Jake Wallis Simon’s Daily
Telegraph expose of what he calls “a radical group”.)
Indeed, as Haaretz
writer Amos Harel has written:
“Breaking
the Silence…has a clear political agenda, and can no longer be classed as a
‘human rights organization.’ Any organization whose website includes the claim
by members to expose the ‘corruption which permeates the military system’ is not
a neutral observer. The organization has a clear agenda: to expose the
consequences of IDF troops serving in the West Bank and Gaza. This seems more
of interest to its members than seeking justice for specific injustices.”
The truth is, as the
hosts of the London event should know, no army faces the same kind of complex
regional strategic threats as Israel’s Defense Forces. Few armed forces
inculcate the need for the highest of humanitarian values and compassion for
those in the conflict zone in their soldiers training (“in Hebrew: tohar
haneshek”). And this, when facing off against the asymmetric warfare
perpetrated by some of the worst terrorist groups like Hamas, Hizbollah and
Islamic Jihad who fight out of uniform and embed themselves deliberately among
civilians.
Let’s say an event similar to
the Yachad-New Israel Fund evening was held in London on Remembrance Sunday
weekend, when British fallen soldiers are remembered. What would we say about
an event aimed at smearing the actions of the British Armed Forces in Afghanistan?
We would likely say that it was ill-timed at best, and seditious at worst. The
Breaking the Silence event should summon up a comparable response.
And let’s lay to
rest the accusation that sometimes comes as a defense of these type of events:
criticism of Israel is fine. No-one is stifling debate. (To the contrary: does
anyone really claim that there is notenough criticism
of Israel?). Israel is a robust enough democracy to take on the debate.
But here’s a
question for supporters of Yachad and the New Israel Fund: Is it too much to
ask you, on Independence Day, to celebrate Israel? Yachad’s motto mimics
J-Street’s “pro-Israel, pro-peace” slogan. But doesn’t being pro-Israel mean
celebrating as well as criticizing, at the very least at this time of year?
After all, these
organizations profess to love Israel but don’t you sometimes – just sometimes –
have to show that love rather than relentlessly bash Israel? One look at the
events, the statements, the social media posts of these Jewish organizations
who are ultra-critical of Israel, yet claim to care about Israel, gives a
different impression than one of love. If anything, it’s like the love of a
wife-beater: “I love you”, he says as he hits his wife; “I love you” he says as
he pushes her down the stairs. A relationship built on criticism alone, surely,
is not a healthy one.
And yet, it is this
kind of a relationship that certain groups are espousing to young people on
university campuses, to high-school students, to the Jewish community and to
the wider public. Conditional love of Israel based on their arrogant view that
only they know what is best for Israel’s future. It is a worrying position that
aims to link the next generation’s relationship to Israel to positions which
may be very wrong and over which Israel, in any case, only has partial control.
As we approach
Israel’s Independence Day, there is much to celebrate. The thriving, modern and
diverse democracy, 3,000 years old and 66 years young, that we see today did
not just happen. It came about because of the actions of determined
individuals, the Zionist pioneers and those who supported them. It came about
through immense personal sacrifice in the face of incredible odds and
opposition. And it came about due to the bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers
who consistently put themselves in harms way so that my family and countless
others in Israel can live freely.
We owe it to them to
celebrate their service with gratitude, especially at this time of year.
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