By Ira Sharkansky
JERUSALEM — These are not good days for the IDF.
All seems well on matters of intelligence and operations, but two of its soldiers are in the headlines.
One young man is on trial for the unnecessary killing of a Palestinian, already inert and seemingly near death.
A decorated soldier, with the rank equivalent of a US Brigadier General, once in line for promotion all the way to the top, is accused of rape and sexual molestation.
It is common to acknowledge the professionalism of military courts, and to say that we shall rely on the outcome of both procedures. At this point, however, it doesn’t look good for either of the accused.
The young man has the rank of Sergeant, but that does not mean that he was responsible for commanding others. Its a routine rank, provided to virtually all draftees after they have served a designated portion of their enlistment, which comes after the rank of Corporal, also provided routinely after a period of service.
He has just had his chance to explain his actions as a witness in his court martial, after his commending officers and several soldiers appeared for the prosecution, and pretty much undercut the stories that the accused and his family members had been providing to the media.
The young man has changed the details of his perceptions and actions, and has asserted that he has been treated unfairly by officers who were at the scene, and ranging up to the Chief of the General Staff and Moshe Yaalon, who was Defense Minister at the time of the incident.
One of the judges censured the accused for changes in his testimony, and failing to provide direct answers to the prosecutor.
The man’s family has not behaved any better. They have been claiming since the beginning that the IDF and civilian authorities are fabricating a file against the accused. The man’s father caused a commotion early on in the military court, and had to be silenced with a threat of expulsion by the judges.
Ranking IDF personnel and politicians were quick to condemn what seemed to be an unnecessary killing of a knife-wielding Palestinian who had already been immobilized after attacking soldiers at a military check point in the always-tense city of Hebron. However, other politicians came to the soldier’s defense. Family members and right wing activists were quick to hold demonstrations on the theme of death to terrorists, or death to Arabs.
Well respected retired generals have not so clearly come to the soldier’s defense, but have argued that his actions did not warrant a trial. They cite the confusion at a scene of violence, and note that self-control is not likely to be perfect during the emotions of combat. They criticize the IDF for moving too quickly to a public trial, likely to be a media sensation, for something that might have been handled better with an internal investigation and discipline,.
Other IDF recruits, as well as officers and personnel associated with the police and the Shin Bet have acted beyond the rules about the use of deadly force. We can be pretty sure that not all incidents have become known, or have been made the subject of judicial proceedings. Israeli security personnel of various organizations appear as a whole to operate with more discipline and professionalism than what we read about local police in the United States, but both here and there, as well as in other countries, commentators about security must admit a lack of complete information.
The General accused of rape and sexual molestation has acted like the young Sergeant. He has changed his story from one of no sexual contact whatsoever to perhaps a friendly kiss with one of his two accusers. And as in the case of the Sergeant, the General’s behavior cannot be described as unique.
It hasn’t helped the General to comment about David and Bathsheba, suggesting the moral vagueness around the actions of a great man.
Both the IDF and the Israel Police have been subject to several revelations of improper behavior involving senior and not so senior officers with female colleagues or females working under their authority. “So what else is new?” might be asked about hierarchical organizations where males and females work together. Universities, civilian government officers and civilian businesses have not been free of similar stories here, there, and everywhere, up to and including the Rabbinate and Christian Churches.
Things have changed with an increase in feminist activism, and the political correctness of rights and transparency. Israel’s jailed former President, found guilty of rape and sexual harassment, and several ruined careers at upper ranks of the IDF and police testify that what once may have been an informal right of office is no longer.
Yet charges of sexual impropriety are likely to more hidden to view–and more problematic–than the use of excessive force exposed to ever-present cell phone cameras.
Neither of the two women who ultimately came forward and complained to the military police about the General did so immediately after claiming to have been attacked or bothered. One continued to work with the accused, despite saying that he committed several offenses.
The General’s indictment came only several months after news of accusations against him, and his suspension from active duty. Investigators of the Military Police conducted numerous inquiries of him and his accusers before concluding that the women were telling the truth.
The General’s supporters are saying that it is his word against their’s, with no independent and reliable evidence of their claims.
Opponents are asserting a priority for women’s report of sexual offenses.
Among the possibilities is that–despite the increased activism of feminists–lower ranking women fear making charges against senior personnel, or think that compliance with unwanted actions would help in their own careers.
The Sergeant’s trial is feeding those on one side who assert that Israel must take a firmer hand against Palestinians (and take no action against the Sergeant), and others who assert that Israelis are too quick on the trigger, or that Israelis regularly brutalize innocent Palestinians.
BDS continues, and a university course in Germany has taught that Israelis systematically kill Palestinians and harvest their organs for transplant, i.e., a modern version of blood libels that Jews kill Christian children to use their blood for making Matzoh.
It is less appropriate to predict the outcome of either case, than to rely on the professionalism of Israel’s judicial proceedings. They may not be perfect and beyond criticism, but they appear to be generally responsible.
And they are what we have to judge such things.
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Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University. He may be contacted via ira.sharkansky@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)
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