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Rachel Saperstein is a teacher at the Neve Dekalim ulpana and a spokeswoman for the Katif Regional Council.
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By Rachel Saperstein
October 24, 2006
Groups of visitors, Jews and Christians, arrived in Nitzan during the Sukkot holiday. I spoke with some groups and my message was one of deep hurt and endless hope.
One group became a sounding board on a plan that shook them, resulting in shouts of anger directed at me. I had stepped on a minefield for I had attacked our sacred Israel Defense Forces.
Let me begin this once again:
Sitting around the Greenblatt's kitchen table I met an unique couple -- Professor Emeritus Dan Eisikowitch and his wife, Ruth. Former members of the left-wing Hashomer Hatzair movement, they typify the secular Jews who fought for and built the State of Israel and are often disdainful of the religious, nationalistic settlers of Judea and Samaria. But the sight of thousands of IDF soldiers forcibly expelling their fellow Jews from their homes in Gush Katif and Northern Samaria brought them to a point of despair: This should not be happening in their beloved country. They feared for secular humanist Israel's morality.
The couple appeared at the Nitzan refugee camp with work tools to help the refugees as they entered the makeshift houses on the muddy fields of Nitzan. Now in the Greenblatt's kitchen they related their feelings on watching the expulsion: "We watched in horror the faces of our soldiers as they grabbed teenagers by the neck and pulled babies from their parents arms. These couldn't be our soldiers!"
Ruth and her like-minded friends began to wonder about the soldiers. How had they been brainwashed to carry out these orders? What had happened to their humanist values? How had the IDF, once deemed sacred by the entire nation, simply become a tool -- as the army is in undemocratic states -- of corrupt leaders? Who were the psychologists who had worked with the government and army brass to create obedient robots? How did the act of expulsion affect them? Did they feel shame, regret or anxiety at what they had done to their own people? How do they feel today?
"We are aware of suicides hushed up by the authorities" Ruth said. "We know of mental breakdowns. We know that soldiers are carrying the burden of their actions into their private lives. Who are these soldiers? How can we reach them so they will tell their stories and give testimony of their brainwashing? We are hoping to reach soldiers who participated and are ready to talk of their ordeal."
As we spoke, other aspects of the expulsion were brought up. Who were the policemen and policewomen who beat our people weeks prior to the expulsion and, despite our filed complaints, were never brought to court? Did the psychologists who participated in the brainwashing violate their code of ethics? And as to the soldiers themselves, just 18 and 19 years old, did they have the moral right to participate in the massive expulsion? Weren't their actions in direct contradiction to their sworn pledge to protect their fellow Jews from our enemies?
"This must never happen again" Ruth said. I then suggested we create a "Wall of Shame" with the pictures of the soldiers who had actively participated in this evil act. This "Wall of Shame" would be an everlasting reminder of an ugly, immoral event in Israel's history, in which our Israeli soldiers, our children, simply said "I am following orders".
When speaking to the Jewish audience mentioned at the beginning, I spoke of the "Wall of Shame".
"You can't do that to our soldiers!" shouted one man.
"A soldier's job is to follow orders!" shouted another.
"My grandson messed up his career in the Air Force because he refused to participate" said a man without the slightest pride in his grandson's courageous stand.
"These are our children. Don't make them suffer even more."
"If you have to put up such a wall, do it for government officials."
The argument was heated, leaving everyone hurt and upset.
What will our soldiers do when next called upon to expel other Jews from their homes?
Will a "Wall of Shame" make each soldier think twice before agreeing to participate?
Will many be strong enough to say "This I cannot do"?
We the people must protect the morality of our armed forces. May the decent people, like Dan and Ruth, take this mission and go forward with it.
May we never again need a "Wall of Shame". Never again.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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