Just fire a rubber bullet at him? (Ha'aretz editorial)

Last Thursday an indictment was served at the Military Court in Tel Aviv against Lt. Col. Omri Borberg and against the soldier under his command who at a range of less than half a meter, fired a rubber bullet at the legs of a shackled and blindfolded Palestinian.

Borberg, the battalion commander, did report the shooting to the brigade commander, who reported it to the division commander, but until the video that was taped by a Palestinian girl from the window of her home came to light, it was not exposed publicly - no one thought it was a grave incident.

Shooting a shackled and blindfolded person, who is clearly not endangering soldiers, and even shooting in order to frighten, or the threat to shoot in order to frighten, and not even directly at the person's body but only in immediate proximity to him, are all acts forbidden by law, whether military or civil, during times of both war and peace, in Israel or anywhere else where respect for human rights exists. To ensure that the prohibition against shooting a shackled person will be clear and unambiguous, the chief of staff should have made an example of the shooting at Na'alin - even if the result of the shooting was only a slight injury to the Palestinian's foot.

However, instead of a strong statement by the chief of staff, instead of the expulsion of the battalion commander from the Israel Defense Forces, a deal was cut whereby Lt. Col. Borberg would be removed from command of the battalion, transferred to another position and tried in the military court on the relatively light charge of "unworthy conduct."

<snip>

Transferring Lt. Col. Borberg to another position in the army is a wink to soldiers that hints that perhaps in the future, when the tempest blows over, the officer will find his place in the command chain anew. The opportunity to send a message of total intolerance of shooting a person in shackles has been missed.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1010675.html

Afew weeks ago, I saw a short news interview of a man who killed his wife with a kitchen knife. "Are you sorry for what you did?" the interviewer asked, and the murderer shrugged and said, "A little." His answer was only two short words, but they contained a ton of subtext. As if the murderer had said, "OK, I accept the fact that slaughtering my wife in front of my kids wasn't really right, but to handcuff me for it, to take me to court and send a TV crew? Don't you think you're overdoing it a little?"

An Israeli military court last week held a hearing about an incident captured on videotape that allegedly shows a regiment commander holding a bound, blindfolded Palestinian man, arrested at a demonstration, while a soldier shoots a rubber bullet at his leg. There is some disagreement between the soldier and the officer as to whether the soldier was ordered to do so. The two were indicted on the charge of conduct unbecoming to members of the Israeli army. The prosecution apparently is not even seeking any prison time, and some reports say that a plea bargain is likely.

There are many charges that could be brought against soldiers and commanders who fire at a handcuffed detainee, and the army's choice of conduct unbecoming carries the same tone as the statement made by the man who murdered his wife: We don't think it's really right to shoot at a handcuffed detainee who poses no threat. But, guys, let's keep things in perspective. The bullet was rubber, not steel; the kid didn't die, he was just wounded; and let's not forget that we're talking here about a pain-in-the-neck demonstrator and not someone strolling innocently along the beach promenade eating ice cream.

Years ago, when I was still in high school, my older brother was brought up on the charge of conduct unbecoming to a soldier in Israel. During one of his guard-duty shifts, out of boredom, he decorated the antenna he was guarding with huge cardboard wings and a sharp-featured face, turning it into a totem pole. His commander, who showed up for a surprise inspection, claimed that he found my brother worshiping the antenna.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-keret13-2008aug13,0,4623317.story