The slanderers and blood libelists at the aptly named Rabin Military Academy tried and failed to bare false witness against the Jewish Military. The left and their jihadi allies are only too happy to contrive any lie, no matter how obvious, in order to advance their greater mission: The destruction of Israel and the Jews who live there.
Thank God we have a few sane Jews left in Knesset to say something, and none are more sane than the esteemed Michael Ben-Ari, who is not afraid to tell the terrorist vermin where to go.
IsraelNN.com: National Union MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari spoke out Wednesday during a Knesset session on Operation Cast Lead and said that the pre-military academy which was responsible for rumors that IDF soldiers purposely targeted civilians should be closed. He added that from personal experience, he knows that the IDF is moral and refrains from hitting civilians.
The story began two weeks ago when the Rabin pre-military academy, headed by Danny Zamir, published accounts from alumni claiming that IDF soldiers targeted civilians during the operation. The story made headlines in Israeli papers before being publicized around the world. On Monday, the IDF concluded that the claims were based on hearsay and emphasized that the rumors had done great damage to the IDF’s image.
Ben-Ari said that Zamir’s academy should be closed. He put Zamir in the category of left-wing inciters who partner with Israel’s enemies, a category which according to Ben-Ari also includes B’Tzelem, Peace Now, and Machsom Watch, groups which he claimed “weaken our stand against our enemies.”
Before Ben-Ari spoke, Arab MK Mohammad Barakeh condemned the operation and claimed the IDF acted immorally. “Some people make a distinction between innocent civilians and those that are not,” he said, “I will tell you something outright – everyone who was killed was an innocent civilian – this was a war for nothing.”
Ben-Ari, unable to contain himself, yelled out, “You shot at our houses.” Barakeh yelled back, “Quiet down you Kahanist,” after which Ben-Ari shot back, “You terrorist, don’t tell me to be quiet.”
MK Nachman Shai from Kadima spoke during the session and emphasized that all IDF investigations conducted so far show that soldiers acted properly. On the other hand, Meretz MK Ilan Galon said he did not trust IDF investigators. Labor MK Matan Vilnai, who serves as deputy Minister of Defense, emphasized that the army acted morally. “I can tell you with complete confidence from personal knowledge that the rules of engagement are very clear and that the IDF carried them out to the full,” he said.
Here’s my 2-cent theory for what its worth. I believe Zamir attempted to frame the story to highlight the ‘negative influence’ the religious are having on the IDF. Zamir has a rather distinct and checkered history of conflict with the religious…and his pre-military academy is decidedly secular and possesses a strong anti-religious bias. He has certainly made more of a fuss about the rabbis’role in Operation Cast Lead, from the prayers, the rabbis’ speeches before the troops entering Gaza, the distribution of tellifin before battle, etc., which he opines lead the soldiers to commit ‘war crimes’ in the name of religious zeal.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for Zamir, the newspapers decided to run with the story revolving around the alleged war crimes rather than the conduct of the religious. In the original Hebrew accounts I read (and my Hebrew is only so-so) these things were mentioned but once the wire services picked up the story - almost all mention of the rabbis’ role was either omitted or so badly translated that it was easy for a reader to overlook this in the rather sensational charges of war crimes. Ha’aretz has been on a religious warpath for a while but the editorial from the 29th has to be one of the most anti-religious editorials of all-time – even for Ha’aretz.
The Israel left has decided their biggest enemy is not the terror masters but the growing influence of the religious within secular society, legislatively and demographically. Certainly, the growing numbers of the religious in the IDF has got them on the offensive.
Very well said, TZH. Thanks for contributing. The left is simultaneously duplicitous and naive...what a combination!
ReplyDeleteand then WE have our plotus saying things like THIS!
ReplyDeletepistnanc
hell, meet handbasket.
loved your take on the story. Ben-Ari seems like a great find for the NU. Can anyone tell me where Benny Alon, former Moledet chief went? Haven't heard much about Aryeh Eldad either.
ReplyDeleteMZ: d'ya hear about the (planned) march on Gush Katif? I'd like to hear your take on that.