A response to Pfc. Benn

The soldiers were so right that they're still occupying South Lebanon and Gaza....soon they will have to face their war trauma's all together with the remote images of West Bank accupation !

Aluf ben describes a part of his experiences and so offers us a glimpse of the prevailent attitude of the 'stronger' towards the 'weaker'. This may be 'good' as long the stronger remain stronger. But doesn't history teach us that what goes around comes around? Every so much ebs and flows, we learn from history the Hebrews suffered from 'anti-semitism'. Apparently, then' we' were on the weaker side. And perhaps the current attitude of enjoying -being the stronger and let it show- contributed greatly for the weaker to become stronger and get even. If just for once. Is this another proof that ànti-semitism- is a self feeding and hibernating phenomen? Toda, Levy for upholding us a sharp mirror.

The fact that Israel looks at itself in the Mirror and acknowledges its injustices makes Israel and even greater country. Mr. Levy can say anything he wants without fear of any governmental reprisal, or worse yet... being killed. I guarantee you if there were Gideon Levy's in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, etc.. etc... they would either Jail him or kill him. Israeli soldiers should not be immune from international law...Good job to Gideon Levy...Now lets see the Arab countries follow the same path as Mr. Levy about their own people who violate human rights...just food for thought

I wonder how, Mr Levy, you would fight the Taliban if you had to. The world is not perfect. But its because of soldiers like Benn that you are able to write for Haaretz. I know you haven't realized it yet, but the Palestinians want to kill you. And they did long before Benn became a soldier.

corrupts. Israeli society today is proof. It will take years to repair if possible the damages, probably longer than it will take those Pals. to heal.

It is clear in the way in which they describe "the conflict" always Israel being the rights and Palestinians the bads.The media in Israel is ,maybe,free,and the work of Levy,Has,Tzipher and some more prove it but the journalists are so embedded with the notion of "Israel",a notion which is not connected with a reality,but it is something which hover about all and remains pure and intangible.Take ,for instance ,the incident with the Turkey ship how was related even in Haaretz and you'll see only one "Israeli" opinion.

Watching this whole situation from the U.S. I keep getting confused.....do the Israelis treat the Arabs the way they do because they're terrorists, or are the Arabs terrorists because of the way they're treated by the IDF? Hmmmm.........

i m asham of you!

You took the easy road, Mr. Levy, by using an oversimplified reading of Mr. Benn's article so that you could right a high-handed and self-righteous column. If you really respected him you wouldn't have done that, because you are intelligent enough to know that Mr. Benn was NOT saying that because everyone does it it's alright, just the opposite, but it takes a nuanced reading of the article and understanding of the author. Grow up Mr. Levy.

Gideon, thank you for this article. Your word choice here perfectly describes what is so corrupt about the occupation. Humiliation of Palestinians is tolerated, excused and routine. So much so that Aluf Benn uses the banality of the occupation to deny its corruptive effect on the soldiers who carry it out. His denial is, in fact, the best proof of its existence. Reading Benn yesterday I wanted to scream; but to quote David Grossman, despair is not a luxury we can afford.

Have another cappuccino and keep thinking about Cinderella and Mickey Mouse. Israel is reacting to an existing threat, this thread might be hard to feel or to see from where you are writing your "stories". Next time a soldier meets an Arab that tries to kill some Jews, he will certainly invite him home for a nice hot bowl of chicken soup and make sure he feels good.

during the first Lebanon war . Even the dead terrorists were exploding and if they were not careful it could easily cost their lives . And handcuffing was a necessary method to keep alive not only the solders but even the prisoners themselves . Those are not civilized westerners , those are Arabs , many of whom do not put much value on life , including their own .

I would like to mention that as a Turkish person I was very grateful after I read your article, you make me believe that Israeli people still have common sense of justice. Thanks

and they agree on the facts.on river,you perforce row to get home.in the desert you must find water.occupation,like army time for most,(and many other cases)is avoidance/acceptance.if you're in the (compelled) position,you adapt,like it or not.hard cases also make bad behaviour.no one can deny there's this price to occupation(if it bothers you at all-because it's a symptom-not the core),but most people who've been through it are so not so scarred,as to be "abnormal".maybe in a 100 years we 'll know if "it" was worth it,and if it "succeeded".

I felt very uneasy after reading Mr. Benn's article yesterday. You summarized it perfectly as you always do.

Aluf Benn like many Israeli soldiers doesn't even recongize his own sins and crimes of occupation against another humanity... It must be all that stupid israeli righteous-- the land is ours and God gave it to us. When in es-sence you are all guilty (collectively ) of robbing and killing for it in the name of the state from a helpless population.... That's all your ugly crime over there and there will be accountability ...trust me on this. Dutch

Very much true and to the point.I didn't know I was a lefty until I was branded such,I always said I am for what is good and right and against what is wrong

Gideon poor Gideon you have such strong believes in the wrongs of your own people and in the rights of the enemy. Arabs certainly will not and did not show any mercy on jews and certainly the Syrian army nor the Hamas nor PA security forces show any mercy on their own people. So please give me a break with always blaming all your own people. Between Rosh Hashana and Jom Kippur it would be nice to see a piece of you asking forgiveness of your own people.

At least in Eastdern Jerusalem and in the territories. You cannot fight a war without end and stay innocent.

Thank you Gideon Levy.

I was appalled by Benn yesterday - so close in his refusal to look at the bigger picture to any other soldier implicated in war crimes ("I was just following orders"). Levy's response restores one's hope. However, sad to say, Israel is full of people like Benn and many who are far worse: actively promoting arbitrary violence as a means to de-humanize and terrorize Palestinians.

Unlike you Gideon, there are many out there who are not willing to forget the mistakes that the Arabs have made, mistakes that have caused many families to morn their dead fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. And unlike you Gideon, many of us are not read to forgive. Possibly in the future when we can really believe that Jews and Jewish history are accepted. Until then Gideon, we need to fight like lions and not walk to the slaughter like lambs, which is what you want us to do. The number of so called pacifists on the left should make you hold your head in shame. Not willing to stand up for what is rightfully yours, you encourage cowardice in the name of pacifism.

Netahyahu often declared the obvious: the main threat to Israel's existence today is Iran. It is also obvious that after the peace with Palestinians, Israel's leverage on BHO will be nonexistent. Hence, Netanyahu will have to use the talks as a leverage against Iran. This means that during the talks Israel will have to attack Iran, as obviously the US won't. Formally such an attack should not contradict peace talks with Abbas, however it will have an indirect "influence" on them. After an Israeli attack on Iran, we'll have retaliations from Iran, Hizballa and Hamas in terms of bombing Israel's population. Probably, people will not be worried to much about peace talks with Abbas after that. All this assuming Iran won't take over Iraq by then, nor Hamas and Hizballa will start to bomb us on their own initiative, in which case the situation is even worse.

...and to all the hypocrites, most of whom are probably living outside Israel, how many years were you all in the Army? My guess is zero.

1 The article has been published by Benn, who is Levi's editor. 2 What were YOU doing during your Army years, Mr. Levi? Instead of saying - "Thank God, I was lucky to not handcuff the Pals and I really don't know how I would have acted in a similar situation" you are playing a holy man, and your "heroic" position makes me puke once again. And I'm a leftist, mind you.

That people brought in for interrogation are handcuffed is universal. That handcuffs not put on properly hurt and that no one gives a damn is universal too. And that this is done to anyone interrogated whether occupied or one's own is not something that deserves the Pulitzer Prize either. Aluf and Levy know that well. Hence, one may wonder what do they, Aluf and Levy, want? Well, they live in their own world called the Journalism World. There are prizes and recognitions. The more one self-criticizes, especially Israel, the greater the chance of winning a prize is. That's the competition. Aluf, you should be ashamed for criticizing an army and in the same sentence say ‘ye, but not me.’ One feels like vomiting. For first, how the hell do you criticize an entire army and them placing yourself aloof? For two, if you are so great, maybe the great majority acts this way? Is it impossible that most eighteen year olds share the values that you had as an eighteen year old? Who are you Special? Levy is taking it a stretch. Here is one of many: “Try to think for a moment about the thousands of detainees that you handcuffed, humiliated and tortured.” Did anyone know that Aluf was the handcuff guy? Did anyone other than Levy deduce from Aluf’s article that he handcuffed THOUSANDS? Was Aluf the handcuff minister or what? Mr. Levy, just give me one scientific study proving that this behavior is a result of occupation, when in truth you know that this is, unfortunately, done to anyone interrogated all over the world. Do you think that you can just bash and knock an entire country until it erased will become? Who the hell are you either? Don’t you think that there are thousands like you in Israel or around the world that just want to respect every human being? Don’t you think that this is the goal of most Israelis? What prize are you going for? Where would YOU like to receive it? In a different country in the Middle East or in Europe, who happens to live in peace for sixty out of thousands of years? Which country out there in this universe, surrounded by countries who unfortunately desire to eradicate it; Which country out there still at its inception, surrounded by countries who unfortunately have not accepted its existence yet; which country at its inception, at which time all had to go ultimately face unfortunately a civil war, do you envy? Is there place for perfection? Of course YES! Is there place for overwhelming, daily, rude criticism? NO! I strip both of you from the prize you both hope to achieve. I am willing though to give you both “The Pulitzer Prize of Selfishness.” That’s your avatar and for that you shall be prized.

hello Mr.Levy all I have to say that you are a great humain being. you article if full humain lessons to be taught at a very high level. all the best

If you did not have the occupation to rant about what would be the next problem you have with Israel...her existence?

Me. Levy, how would you treat prisioners if you were ther Pfc. in chrage? Would you provide them with napkins, crystal goblets, & fine china? Would you cater to their every wish & desire? Spare me the bleeding heart feelings for the "poor mistreated prisoners". It is not a lowly Pfc job to interigate prisoners, to ask why they are incarserated, nor to inquire as to their feelings. He was doing his job & that's all there is to it.

As direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority began this week in Washington, the PA gave an award to a woman for raising four sons who all murdered Israelis in terrorist attacks. PA Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Karake gave the “Shield of Resoluteness and Giving” to the mother of the Abu Hamid brothers, four of whom have been sentenced to life in prison for terrorism, in a ceremony reported by the PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and translated by Palestinian Media Watch. A fifth was killed fighting Israel in 1994. The woman was referred to by PA media only as Umm Yusef, “mother of Yusef,” and not by her given name. She was also referred to as “Khansa of Palestine,” a reference to the legend of a woman from the days of the beginning of Islam, who rejoiced when her four sons were all killed in battle. Umm Yusef Abu Hamid's sons all took part in terrorist attacks in which innocent Israeli civilians were murdered. Karake praised the Abu Hamid family as “a model of willpower and of the struggle for the independence of Palestine.” He was accompanied by other PA representatives and by representatives of PA "human rights" groups. Karake also visited the family of Ayyat Al-Akhras, a suicide bomber who murdered two Israelis in a Jerusalem supermarket in 2002. Al-Hayat Al-Jadida referred to Al-Akhras as having “died a Martyrs' death.”

The order of things should be remembered, those who have been promoting terror and denying peace are the Palestinians. Jews have historical rights to live in Judea and Samaria, even more than in Tel-Aviv. Palestinians also have the right to live normal life and the right of self-determination. Thus a pragmatic agreement is of necessity. But we are not the wrong side here. Our willingness to give land to Palestinians is solely based on humanitarian values, and pragmatism. As a matter of fact, the ones who most oppose this peace talks are the extreme left. For them, a peace agreement with Abbas will take away all moral justification for bashing Israel. I guarantee you, that your friends from the left are already writing the columns denying Abbas rights to sign anything, invoking lack of democracy for not including "democratic Hamas" in the talks.

you're right

The Land of Israel is real.Occupation is in your imagination.Set your identity free.Do not succumb to assimilation.

Israel still has couragous people like Gideon Levi. By constantly displaying the last and almost broken pieces of morality left in Israel, you do her a favour greater than you can imagine.

All the recent problems that Israel has (including suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and kidnappings) were created by the left wing. The left wing Israeli government gave guns and lands to the Arabs (Palestinians). Then, the Arabs killed the Israelis (Jews). Then, Israel retaliated. Then, the world blamed Israel. As a result, so many Israelis have been killed and maimed needlessly, and a lot of money has been wasted. In addition, Israel lost a big chunk of its prime land, and the little country of Israel became even smaller. Then, the left wing blamed the right wing for all of these. Furthermore, the left wing Israeli government offered citizenship to the Muslims/Arabs in 1948, just after the war when Muslims/Arabs killed 1/5th of the Israeli Jews. Now they are breeding like rabbits and soon they will become the majority in the State of Israel. Once Arabs/Muslims become the majority in Israel, then they will join their comrades in Gaza and the West Bank and the rest of the Arab/Muslim world and will slaughter the Jews. Therefore, there will be another genocide of the Jews because of the actions of the left wing. It is not the question of if, but it is the question of when.

It would sound a little more sincere if it came from someone who doesn't justify shooting innocent Israeli soldier as does Gideon Levy. See his article on Sgan Aluf Harari being shot while in Israel pruning a tree. With UN knowledge.

..is being done by those who are less human.

Ismail Haniyeh was not prepared to win the elections in 2006 or to become a public speaker. For months afterwards, wherever he was (I remember one tv interview in freezing temperatures in Russia), he said very little except "The problem is the occupation." Words of wisdom from a professor of literature.

Gideon Levy you got straight to the heart of the matter and expressed well what I was feeling when I read Aluf Benn's story. It was the acceptance of people being treated like this - with no inner turmoil as to what he witnessed and participated in, with none of the natural anger and revulsion that should have been aroused, that was strangely disturbing and devoid of feeling.

Thanks Mrs. Levy, this is the appropriate and much response to the chilling testimony of another criminal , corrupted soldier

Thank you again Gideon for letting the world know that there are some whose conscience has not become corrupted and are prepared to give voice to their conscience.

My money is on the both possibilities simultaneusly

Wow--what a devastating article. Every word just ripping to shreds Aluf Benn. I wonder what Benn's reaction to reading this will be? Will he be furious, or will he see the truth and admit that his moral compass is corrupted? Who is who's boss here? Can Benn fire Levy for basically calling him a corrupt, oblivious cretin? Just a powerful article. What people and govt's just never seem to realize is that treating people with hatred and inhumanity only creates more hatred. Do you think they go home and say "Gee--thanks for making me eat like a dog in urine and filth" No--they go home and plan on how they and their sons can kill you. Damn--what is happening to Israel???

Being at war continually and growing up in Israel under constant threat has indeed made some Israelis insensitive, more apathetic, weary of the future, dehumanized or stoic of the emotional pain which the army experiences can cause. It is of no choice but of patriotic obligation that Israelis are drafted to the IDF. I always think, would my young boys cope with the demands, both physically and emotionally? How ironic that yesterday while canoeing on vacation in a Canadian lake with my 12 year old son, the topic of being a soldier in the Israeli army and the mostly infrequent incidences of bullying or humiliations within the IDF (which probably still stands as one of the most moral armies in the world) arose as part of our conversation. We yearn for peace in the region because we know to be desensitized or continually live in an atmosphere of learned hatred and war is unfair for each and every generation. Like Gideon Levy, I'm also disturbed by the "feelings" of Aluf Benn with his army experience, but I'm most disturbed by the continuing terror of extremist Palestinians who sabotage a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

The corruption is not born of being "stronger"...it's born of absolute power and control. But is the lack of empathy a 'result' of, and reinforced by, the occupation; or is it pre-conditioned and indoctrinated to justify it and facilitate the implementation of oppression that accompanies it? Or perhaps BOTH?

The truth of the matter is some of us avoided PFC Benn's situation by refusing to serve in certain situations in the army. Given the fact that this expectation in unrealistic for many Israeli's PFC Ben's wonderful article,is a demonstration of the conclusions that Hannah Arendt reached.in covering the Eichmann trial. She indicated that evil did not come in the form of a human monster.Evil was simply an endless bureaucratic process with people fufilling it's expecations. Such is the "Bannality of Evil" This is what PFC Benn took part in.

One of Israel's greatest strengths is, conversely, is that Israel possesses a free and vibrant press that allows a full range of critical opinion and accountability over government and state bodies. One of Israel's most vociferous critics in the Israeli media is Ha'aretz commentator Gideon Levy who regularly demonizes the Jewish state to foreign audiences and in his own newspaper columns.Levy, however, goes beyond legitimate criticism of Israel, crossing red lines and allying himself with those who refer to Israel as a racist 'apartheid state', promote boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) and wish to see the very destruction of Israel. While Levy is perfectly within his rights as a private citizen to travel freely and address any audience he likes, we question both his judgment and his agenda. Does he really not have any idea of the particularly vicious nature of the fringe groups he is being sponsored by? Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign - Fringe Extremists Promoting Hate Levy also spoke at an event organized jointly by the Manchester branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, the leading UK group advocating a boycott of Israeli academia. The British Committee's remit is to pressure the UK government and European Union for the exclusion of Israel from the European Research Area and encourage academics to break all professional links with Israel. All I do is care about Israel. I've used my journalistic career for a better Israel, not against Israel. Can Levy really be so naive as to believe that he is not simply aiding the vicious campaing of demonization and delegitimization of Israel taking place in the UK today? Or is he cynically appealing to the most debased audiences in an attempt to sell more books? Either way, Gideon Levy's actions merely add to the suspicion surrounding Ha'aretz's irresponsible and politically driven agenda that has caused so much damage to Israel's reputation abroad.

The problem tis that Israel lives in one part of the world, lets say a dirty neighborhood. In this region it seems that either "you ride on him" or he rides on you" . It seems that this last option is an option that has to be considered. This is an option that Gideon Levy high standing morality prevents him from seeing.. As Benny Morris correctly expressed it. In some cases, expelling thousands of people from their homes could be an humanistic act, if the alternative is extermination.

it has not to lead in a holocaust. it can.there is so much similar to the beginning...