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Israeli Military Officials Caught Off Guard by a ‘Digital Rebellion’ Israeli Military Officials Caught Off Guard by a ‘Digital Rebellion’
(7 days later)
JERUSALEM — Thousands of photographs poured onto Facebook: uniformed Israeli soldiers in elite units, office workers on lunch break, a beachgoer in a bikini, a right-wing politician, toddlers and even puppies, all holding signs in Hebrew: “We are with David the Nahlawi.”JERUSALEM — Thousands of photographs poured onto Facebook: uniformed Israeli soldiers in elite units, office workers on lunch break, a beachgoer in a bikini, a right-wing politician, toddlers and even puppies, all holding signs in Hebrew: “We are with David the Nahlawi.”
That would be David Adamov, a soldier in the Nahal Brigade of the Israeli Army, who was videotaped having an aggressive confrontation with Palestinian teenagers in the always tense West Bank city of Hebron. After the video was posted on the Internet and broadcast on Israeli television and a military spokesman said his behavior did not comport with the army’s code of conduct, word that David the Nahlawi was being held in a military jail sparked what several commentators have called the Israel Defense Forces’ first “digital rebellion.”That would be David Adamov, a soldier in the Nahal Brigade of the Israeli Army, who was videotaped having an aggressive confrontation with Palestinian teenagers in the always tense West Bank city of Hebron. After the video was posted on the Internet and broadcast on Israeli television and a military spokesman said his behavior did not comport with the army’s code of conduct, word that David the Nahlawi was being held in a military jail sparked what several commentators have called the Israel Defense Forces’ first “digital rebellion.”
“In this era, there are almost no barriers between the soldier in the field and the expression of his opinion online,” the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz said in an article on Thursday. “This is a whole new ballpark, whose rules the I.D.F. is just beginning to learn. Meanwhile, it seems the soldiers are a few steps ahead of their commanders.”“In this era, there are almost no barriers between the soldier in the field and the expression of his opinion online,” the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz said in an article on Thursday. “This is a whole new ballpark, whose rules the I.D.F. is just beginning to learn. Meanwhile, it seems the soldiers are a few steps ahead of their commanders.”
It turned out that Mr. Adamov, whose age and rank the I.D.F. would not provide, was jailed not because of the confrontation in Hebron, but for having previously attacked two of his own commanders. It also turned out that one of the teenagers in Hebron had brass knuckles. Having shunned the soldier on Tuesday, the military said on Wednesday that it would investigate the confrontation in Hebron only after Mr. Adamov returned to his unit after his 20-day sentence. It turned out that Mr. Adamov, whose age and rank the I.D.F. would not provide, was jailed not because of the confrontation in Hebron, but for having previously attacked two of his own commanders. There were also widespread reports that one of the teenagers in Hebron had had brass knuckles. Having shunned the soldier on Tuesday, the military said on Wednesday that it would investigate the confrontation in Hebron only after Mr. Adamov returned to his unit after his 20-day sentence.
But all that came after the outpouring online. The seemingly social-media-savvy Israeli military was caught flat-footed by the reality of soldiers who carry smartphones along with their rifles and who showed they were unafraid to publicly challenge their commanders online. By Thursday afternoon, the Facebook page of support for Mr. Adamov had garnered 100,000 likes, and a slow-motion version of the confrontation video had been shared 7,492 times.But all that came after the outpouring online. The seemingly social-media-savvy Israeli military was caught flat-footed by the reality of soldiers who carry smartphones along with their rifles and who showed they were unafraid to publicly challenge their commanders online. By Thursday afternoon, the Facebook page of support for Mr. Adamov had garnered 100,000 likes, and a slow-motion version of the confrontation video had been shared 7,492 times.
The military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said the episode “raised issues of ethics in the military that we must deal with on every level.”The military’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said the episode “raised issues of ethics in the military that we must deal with on every level.”
“It is very important that we remember, and we say to our subordinates in a clear way, that Facebook is not an instrument of command,” General Gantz told his top aides at their weekly briefing. “It’s here, and that is a fact, but it is not a substitute or even parallel to discourse between commanders and their soldiers.”“It is very important that we remember, and we say to our subordinates in a clear way, that Facebook is not an instrument of command,” General Gantz told his top aides at their weekly briefing. “It’s here, and that is a fact, but it is not a substitute or even parallel to discourse between commanders and their soldiers.”
The solidarity campaign unfolded days after the latest peace talks with the Palestinians collapsed in acrimony. It sheds light on a longstanding concern of soldiers and their families: Though they are trained for combat, many young Israelis are deployed in police-patrol roles in the occupied West Bank. And activists have provided Palestinians there with cameras to document the soldiers’ every move.The solidarity campaign unfolded days after the latest peace talks with the Palestinians collapsed in acrimony. It sheds light on a longstanding concern of soldiers and their families: Though they are trained for combat, many young Israelis are deployed in police-patrol roles in the occupied West Bank. And activists have provided Palestinians there with cameras to document the soldiers’ every move.
The confrontation video, taken on Sunday by the Hebron-based group Youth Against Settlements, shows Mr. Adamov in a green beret, shoving a Palestinian youth and then cocking and brandishing his assault rifle. He kicks the youth, who is heard swearing at him, and then he threatens onlookers with “a bullet in your head” if they do not shut off their cameras.The confrontation video, taken on Sunday by the Hebron-based group Youth Against Settlements, shows Mr. Adamov in a green beret, shoving a Palestinian youth and then cocking and brandishing his assault rifle. He kicks the youth, who is heard swearing at him, and then he threatens onlookers with “a bullet in your head” if they do not shut off their cameras.
Hebron, 20 miles south of Jerusalem and home to 250,000 Palestinians and about 700 Jewish settlers, is a source of frequent clashes. Under a 1997 agreement, the Israeli military directly controls one-fifth of the city, including the burial site of biblical patriarchs where Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish doctor from a nearby settlement, killed 29 Muslim worshipers in a 1994 massacre. The rest of the city is the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.Hebron, 20 miles south of Jerusalem and home to 250,000 Palestinians and about 700 Jewish settlers, is a source of frequent clashes. Under a 1997 agreement, the Israeli military directly controls one-fifth of the city, including the burial site of biblical patriarchs where Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish doctor from a nearby settlement, killed 29 Muslim worshipers in a 1994 massacre. The rest of the city is the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.
A decade ago, former soldiers from the Nahal Brigade who had been stationed on the same hot Hebron streets founded Breaking the Silence, an anti-occupation group that records soldiers sharing horror stories from their service and then uses the stories in lectures and guided tours.A decade ago, former soldiers from the Nahal Brigade who had been stationed on the same hot Hebron streets founded Breaking the Silence, an anti-occupation group that records soldiers sharing horror stories from their service and then uses the stories in lectures and guided tours.
“If you really understand the story, these things are the norms, and not exceptions, because that’s how you behave there, that’s the reality of military occupation,” Yehuda Shaul, one of the founders of Breaking the Silence, said in an interview Thursday. “If you’re a real combat soldier, if you are on the ground, you know that this is the way things are, and sadly, we don’t debate these things enough and we don’t confront them enough.”“If you really understand the story, these things are the norms, and not exceptions, because that’s how you behave there, that’s the reality of military occupation,” Yehuda Shaul, one of the founders of Breaking the Silence, said in an interview Thursday. “If you’re a real combat soldier, if you are on the ground, you know that this is the way things are, and sadly, we don’t debate these things enough and we don’t confront them enough.”
Issa Amro, a spokesman for Youth Against Settlements, the group that posted the video, said that Sunday was “not the first time” Mr. Adamov had confronted activists from the group. Mr. Amro said the group had also recorded and posted video of the commander of the Nahal Brigade arresting a Palestinian boy “in a very, very violent way.”Issa Amro, a spokesman for Youth Against Settlements, the group that posted the video, said that Sunday was “not the first time” Mr. Adamov had confronted activists from the group. Mr. Amro said the group had also recorded and posted video of the commander of the Nahal Brigade arresting a Palestinian boy “in a very, very violent way.”
“If the two-star commander did something like that, misbehaved, I think the soldiers will feel like, ‘O.K., we can do whatever we want,’ ” Mr. Amro said. “This unit is, until now, detaining kids, invading houses, going around in the Palestinian neighborhood.” “If the two-star commander did something like that, misbehaved, I think the soldiers will feel like, ‘O.K., we can do whatever we want,’ ” Mr. Amro said. “This unit is, until now, detaining kids, invading houses, going around in the Palestinian neighborhood.”
The creator of the Facebook page supporting Mr. Adamov wrote on the page that soldiers “find themselves handcuffed (figuratively) and confused” by military policy. “Should I take the chance that I will be humiliated, wounded and even risk my life, but I will know that the system will not be able to harass me?” the author asks in the unsigned posting. “Or do I use the means at my disposal,” and “take the chance that I will be in a different movie entirely: of a criminal in court for just doing my job?”The creator of the Facebook page supporting Mr. Adamov wrote on the page that soldiers “find themselves handcuffed (figuratively) and confused” by military policy. “Should I take the chance that I will be humiliated, wounded and even risk my life, but I will know that the system will not be able to harass me?” the author asks in the unsigned posting. “Or do I use the means at my disposal,” and “take the chance that I will be in a different movie entirely: of a criminal in court for just doing my job?”
Most of the posts from supporters do not delve deeply into the nuances of military policy and punishment, but simply show people standing up in virtual support of the newly iconic soldier. Many but not all of those in uniform hid their faces. One had carved “We are with David the Nahlawi” into his close-cropped hair. Two scrawled the slogan on their bare backs. It was spelled out in pebbles on dirt, lit up in flames, and held by a baby in a bouncy seat.Most of the posts from supporters do not delve deeply into the nuances of military policy and punishment, but simply show people standing up in virtual support of the newly iconic soldier. Many but not all of those in uniform hid their faces. One had carved “We are with David the Nahlawi” into his close-cropped hair. Two scrawled the slogan on their bare backs. It was spelled out in pebbles on dirt, lit up in flames, and held by a baby in a bouncy seat.
Aliza Lavie, an Israeli Parliament member, said in a radio interview on Thursday that what Facebook had done was to take public a conversation many families have been having around their kitchen tables.Aliza Lavie, an Israeli Parliament member, said in a radio interview on Thursday that what Facebook had done was to take public a conversation many families have been having around their kitchen tables.
“We train them as soldiers,” she said of the Israelis policing the occupied territories, “but they have to deal with situations that maybe require psychological preparation.”“We train them as soldiers,” she said of the Israelis policing the occupied territories, “but they have to deal with situations that maybe require psychological preparation.”
Ron Ben-Yishai, the military columnist for the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, wrote on Thursday that soldiers “are caught between the devil of the orders they received” and “the deep blue sea of provocation” by people “whose entire goal is to get an incriminating photo” and “distribute it worldwide.”Ron Ben-Yishai, the military columnist for the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, wrote on Thursday that soldiers “are caught between the devil of the orders they received” and “the deep blue sea of provocation” by people “whose entire goal is to get an incriminating photo” and “distribute it worldwide.”
“But if from now on, every military/political issue will provoke such an Internet protest from soldiers, the I.D.F.’s power of deterrence will pay a heavy price,” he warned. “In the 1980s it would have been considered as an incitement to revolt, and soldiers have been tried and put in jail for much less.” “But if from now on, every military/political issue will provoke such an Internet protest from soldiers, the I.D.F.'s power of deterrence will pay a heavy price,” he warned. “In the 1980s it would have been considered as an incitement to revolt, and soldiers have been tried and put in jail for much less.”