Parents of fallen soldiers call to outlaw Breaking the Silence

'It's okay to criticize the IDF, but not lie,' says father of Staff Sgt. Yehonatan Yaakov Einhorn; 'It's time for the gov't to break the silence of the sane people of Israel, and remove this anti-Israeli organization from the agenda,' says mother of Sgt.-Maj. Amit Bosidan.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4740153,00.html



This was the part I found really interesting:




"The director of Breaking the Silence was interviewed today and said that 'our money comes from Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands and is being managed in Ramallah.' This is a statement that should shake the State of Israel to its very core. Can it be that our children are exposed to harm from organizations that are run from Ramallah?" the parents went on to say in their letter. The letter was signed by parents of seven soldiers who were killed in Israel's wars: Maj. Benaya Sarel's parents Shalom and Michal; Mazal Gidoni, the mother of Staff Sgt. Liel Gidoni; David Einhorn, the father of Staff Sgt. Yehonatan Yaakov Einhorn; Haim Tzemach, the father of Staff Sgt. Oz Tzemach; Moshe and Ora Degorker, the parents of Sgt.-Maj. Barak Degorker; Yigal Noah, the father of Staff Sgt. Oren Simcha Noah; and Geula Bosidan, the mother of Sgt.-Maj. Amit Bosidan.

"All hope was lost," said Michal Sarel whose son Maj. Benaya Sarel was killed in Rafah during Operation Protection Edge and became one of the symbols of that war. "It pains me and it's difficult for me to see how they are undermining the military, the friends who fought alongside them, and the values of the IDF and the State of Israel." The parents say they feel that they need to speak out against what they see as the spreading of lies and slander against the IDF. "Regardless of being a bereaved mother, I feel that what Breaking the Silence is doing is terrible," Michal said. "How is it possible that officers are doing holy work, endangering their lives - and then they are being besmirched? I'm saying: If you have any complaints, or you saw something wrong - turn to the military, go to the IDF's criminal investigation division."


"I remember, a week before he was killed, Benaya told me how a hungry Palestinian approached his troops, and he gave him his soldiers' food. Is there anything more moral than that?" she said. Shalom Sarel, Benaya's father, agreed. "Our son behaved in a super-moral manner, even while fighting among civilians, and gave food to hungry children," Shalom said. "This is how we raised him."

You think it's being managed by dodgy people in Ramallah?

Very much so Rags

None of these claims has ever been presented with any evidence or through any of the criminal proceedings of the IDF, where they certainly charge and imprison soldiers who do wrong of which there is evidence to easily prove.

I have no doubt there is individual wrongs doen by some soldiers, but where money is involved and used to obtain confessions, something is very wrong from the start.
Many I understand are on the paybook through this organisation

Richard The Lionheart wrote:Very much so Rags

None of these claims has ever been presented with any evidence or through any of the criminal proceedings of the IDF, where they certainly charge and imprison soldiers who do wrong of which there is evidence to easily prove.

I have no doubt there is individual wrongs doen by some soldiers, but where money is involved and used to obtain confessions, something is very wrong from the start.
Many I understand are on the paybook through this organisation

I'm not very familiar with that organisation, but I understand that the stories come from anonymous sources. Obviously, there are reasons why someone would want to be anonymous, but it also means that the stories can't be verified.

I think that article also highlights the fact that the parents of Israeli soldiers also grieve. We hear a lot about the Palestinian grief but not much from the other side.