The Daily Clarity

IDF T-shirts, tear gas, drunken vandalism, and tales of war

Uri Dromi writing in today’s Guardian newspaper tells us, “Don’t judge Israel’s war crimes”.  It is a reasonable request.  Any allegations of wrongdoings do need to be fully investigated prior to drawing conclusions, even though the allegations of the use of human shields are severely troubling.  We will also agree with some of Dromi’s points in the article that the IDF has been judged in a rushed and harsh manner in the past. It is not the crimes in the heat of war that are causing the outrage,  though as condemnable as these are, they are at least contextual in the  fear and panic of an urban battle. Such allegations need rigorous investigation, but could well be the non-institutional  and undisciplined actions of a cynical NCO, or the panicked commands of a young and inexperienced Lieutenant. It is also appropriate that such allegations are investigated by the IDF itself, despite critics saying this is putting the foxes in charge of the hen house. The findings of an IDF investigation are the only rulings that the troops will accept. It they are judged by their own to have breached the rules of engagement, then there is little to question in any findings of guilt. This would not be the case if the  investigation were undertaken by the UN or the ICC, where the IDF would naturally suspect bias. It is not this news that causes us concern,  as we are hopeful due process and prosecutions will occur. It is the cases of the IDF T-shirts, drunken vandalism, and tear gas that make us concerned as to both the integrity of  IDF intent and command.

We are also less than reassured by the words of explanation voiced by Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, as reported by the JTA.  Ashkenazi  addressed reports concerning soldiers’ behavior while serving during the military incursion known as Operation Cast Lead. “I’ve known the IDF for many years, and as the person who accompanied the preparations for Operation Cast Lead, briefed the commanders in the field, and is well aquainted with commanders and soldiers of the IDF, I tell you that this is a moral and ideological army.” If Ashkenzai actually believes a combat force, bred and honed for imminent battle, is at its core moral and ideological, it is at best a naive view,  and at worst duplicitous. Any standing army has violence at its heart – it is the rasion d’etre for its existence, the basis of its covenant,  and the glue of the camaraderie under fire. No collection of young men (and women) can be entirely pure of ideological purpose when given a gun and sent to war, regardless of its origin or training. The IDF will contain ‘bad apples’ as a statistical certainty, exactly  the same way as any other combat force will. Ashkenzei’s words are merely part and parcel of the hasbara to support Israel’s actions in the Gaza. His protestations of  innocent intent are  politics,  not philosophy. However, again it is unfair to judge him harshly for his words – that is the role and his responsibility of the position he holds.

Where their is evidence of true moral concern, however, is in the recent Haaretz stories about the T-shirts and such being ordered and produced for IDF members of their own volition, such as the one pictured below.

Haaretz reports, “Dead babies, mothers weeping on their children’s graves, a gun aimed at a child and bombed-out mosques – these are a few examples of the images Israel Defense Forces soldiers design these days to print on shirts they order to mark the end of training, or of field duty. The slogans accompanying the drawings are not exactly anemic either: A T-shirt for infantry snipers bears the inscription “Better use Durex,” next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby, with his weeping mother and a teddy bear beside him. A sharpshooter’s T-shirt from the Givati Brigade’s Shaked battalion shows a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull’s-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, “1 shot, 2 kills.” A “graduation” shirt for those who have completed another snipers course depicts a Palestinian baby, who grows into a combative boy and then an armed adult, with the inscription, “No matter how it begins, we’ll put an end to it.”  There are also plenty of shirts with blatant sexual messages. For example, the Lavi battalion produced a shirt featuring a drawing of a soldier next to a young woman with bruises, and the slogan, “Bet you got raped!” A few of the images underscore actions whose existence the army officially denies – such as “confirming the kill” (shooting a bullet into an enemy victim’s head from close range, to ensure he is dead), or harming religious sites, or female or child non-combatants. “

These attitudes are more worrying as they are pre-meditated, not errors in the heat of battle. It is a systemic and shameful code of conduct preconceived and celebrated by members of the IDF.  The IDF is solely  trained for combat  with its neighbors.  It is a delicate role of peace keeping and military intervention. However, these t-shirts show an inherent racism and perceived social superiority towards people that the IDF is tasked not only with prosecuting in case of war, but to also police in times of  ‘peace’. There is no doubt that the IDF graduates know the errors of their ways. They are reported to  buy this extremely graphic clothing  to wear in privacy or on base, hidden from the eyes of the general public so as to avoid censure. The clothing is ordered either with the tacit or perceived permission of IDF commanders,  who neither prosecute or condemn the messages emblazoned on their sub-ordinates. This is an inherent moral corruption at the heart of the IDF, sanctioned or at least permitted by IDF officers. It is a cold-hearted, pre-mediated demonstration of martial racist dominance. It is to be condemned and stands in stark contradiction to the words of Ashkenazi who would have us, even given this evidence of innate corruption in the duty of command, as a ‘moral and ideological’ force.

Any observer know that soldiers will do what soldiers will do, and whatever they can get away with  - this is true of all armies . However this one of the reasons why the officer cadre exists, to correct the worst excesses of its troops. The failure of the officers to stamp out these acts speaks volumes of the credo that really permeates within the  IDF. The errors of the IDF are also compounding in recent days. There are reports of graduating IDF reservists going on drunken sprees smashing Palestinian cars and property.  There is the tragic case of US peace protester. Tristan Anderson, shot in the head from close range (for a weapon of this velocity) who is in critical condition, and where again the IDF claims a hardly credible innocent intent.  The international clamors for an investigation of  alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza are growing louder. This is appropriate and needs investigation, but perhaps equally as important to any claims for moral standing of the IDF,  are the cases of t-shirts, tear gas,  and drunken revelry. If the IDF means to a be credible as a modern army with a ideology of democracy and equity at its core , then unless it systematically and publicly addresses its excesses,  such claims ring  hollow and callous given the circumstances and the evidence.