The controversy reached the New York Times, where Aberjil defended herself. She said that the “pictures were taken in good will, there was no statement in them.” According to the Times, she added that they were not intended to humiliate the prisoners but merely to document her “military experience,” and that she had no idea they “would be problematic.”

The IDF response is what you would expect. According to Breaking the Silence, an organization of Israeli veterans that collects testimonies:

Unsurprisingly, the I.D.F. spokesman released a ’shocked’ statement saying that this is the “shameless and ugly behavior of one soldier.” This picture is not the ugly behavior of one person, but a norm throughout the army… that is a result of military rule over a civilian population over a long time.

Today Ynet reveals how “ugly” Aberjil’s behavior really is. This is what she is really thinking, according to her own posts in Facebook following the controversy:

I am in favor of of Zionist Jewish state!! I am defending what belongs to me from the beginning of time!!… In war there are no laws!! I hate Arabs and wish them all manner of evil and gladly I would kill them and even massacre them. We cannot forget what they do. Does not matter the reason. I am simply on the side of the Jewish people!!

To Aberjil I say, I am one of many Jews who do not consider you on “our side.” Not one bit.

To the IDF I say, stop hiding behind excuses. Pay attention to Breaking the Silence’s documentation of how these humiliating pictures are the norm, not the exception. Oh, and teach your soldiers a thing or two about the Geneva Conventions, will you? Would you explain how they can do years of military service and still believe that there are no laws of war?

We just learned new bill has been introduced in the Israeli Knesset by 25 Knesset members, that would criminalize all BDS activities or even BDS advocacy inside or outside Israel. You can find info about this in English here and with more detail in Hebrew here.

The proposed bill would target those that initiate, encourage, or provide assistance or information about boycotts against Israel.

Israeli citizens or residents of Israel could be sued by whoever was harmed by the boycott and would have to pay up to 30,000 shekels in restitution and an additional amount according to the harm established by the Israeli courts.
This provision would endanger the Israeli Coalition of Women for Peace, New Profile, Boycott from Within, among others.

Those that are neither citizens nor residents of Israel would lose the ability of entering Israel for at least ten years and would be forbidden from economic activity in Israel (holding an account in an Israeli bank, owning Israeli stocks, land, or any other good that requires registration.)
It is not clear whether this provision would apply also to entry into the West Bank, although Prof. Noam Chomsky’s denial of entry may be a sign of things to come.

A group in a foreign country would also be forbidden from economic activism in Israel. This would apply to the Palestinian Authority as well.
In the case of the PA, Israel would freeze transfer of money it owes and would use it to pay restitution to those harmed in Israel.

You may recall that last year, Ezra was found guilty by  judge Eilata Ziskind of the Jerusalem Magistrate’s (Peace) Court of assaulting two policemen and participating in a riot back in 2007.

On July 22, 2007, Ezra tried to stop a military bulldozer from destroying the homes of Palestinian Bedouins in the West Bank Palestinian village of Um el-Hir in the South Hebron region. The whole incident was documented on video, except for a few seconds when Ezra was inside the shack being demolished. Israeli Border Policemen claimed to have been hit by Ezra in these few seconds, and judge Ziskind took their word over Ezra’s.

The video itself  has been seen over 48,000 times, and has brought further international attention to the issue of home demolitions and to the unfairness of Ezra’s case.

After the soldiers demolished the home, a handcuffed Ezra is seen telling the laughing soldiers:

“Yes, I was also a soldier, but I didn’t demolish houses. There’s a big difference. The only thing that will be left here is hatred. Only hatred will be left here. Very funny, soldier? That the kids will be sleeping outside, is that funny?”

Jewish Voice for Peace mounted a campaign in solidarity with Ezra Nawi. At the hearing, Emily Schaeffer testified on behalf of JVP and on behalf of over 20,000 people who had signed letters in support of Ezra and she managed to deliver these signatures of support to the judge.

A few days before her ruling, the Judge Ziskind got another call to conscience. Boaz Okun, a prominent judge and legal authority in Israel, published an op-ed in an Israeli daily, stating that Ezra deserved ‘defense from justice’:

The penal code allows the canceling of a guilty verdict against a criminal if the crime committed shrinks vis-a-vis the arbitrary behavior of the state. This is called ‘defense from justice.’
– Boaz Okun. Defense from Justice. Yedi’ot Ahronot, Sep 13, 2009

Nonetheless, Justice Ziskind ruled in favor of the testimony of the policemen.

Ironically, that very same day,  Israel’s State Prosecutor’s Office decided not to press charges against Border Guard policemen actually documented in a video hitting Palestinians, ‘as they did not cause real damage.’ In the topsy-turvy world of Israeli justice, a policeman abuse (caught on video) is ignored while a policeman fabricated abuse (not caught on video) is believed.

Judge Ziskind gave Ezra the option to admit guilt and avoid jail time (doing community service and paying fines instead). Ezra could not admit guilt to a crime he did not commit, so he decided to appeal the case. That appeal will be heard tomorrow in court.

The final word goes to Ezra:

“I would like to believe that my personal adversity will inspire and motivate individuals to actively oppose the occupation.”

For more information on his case, go to http://www.supportezra.net/

– Sydney Levy