'I don't see anything wrong with Facebook images of Palestinian detainees'

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/i-don-t-see-anything-wrong-with-facebook-images-of-palestinian-detainees-1.308537

snip - There's nothing wrong with the picture I uploaded to Facebook depicting handcuffed Palestinian detainees, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier told Army Radio on Tuesday, after causing a media storm over the controversial images.

"I still don't understand what's wrong," Abergil told Army Radio on Thursday, saying that the "pictures were taken in good will, there was no statement in them."

The former IDF soldier said the pictures, which she said were of Gazans who had been arrested while attempting to crossover into Israel, were meant to depict a "military experience," and were not intended to injure the detainees.

During the Army Radio interview, Abergil repeatedly said that it had never occurred to her that "the picture would be problematic," asking interviewer Ilana Dayan whether the media asked for detainees permission when they film them.

..I am sure the good will was appreciated by your blindfolded prisoners...

In the first place, these people were not prisoners of war. They weren't even soldiers if I understand what happened correctly. And they weren't being photographed for propaganda purposes anyway, which is what that clause seeks to prevent.

Keep it in perspective. THIS was not a violation of the freaking Geneva Conventions.

Don't get me wrong... what this girl did was incredibly insensitive and totally messed up. To happily photograph herself in a position of total dominion over another person, smiling casually while gesturing flippantly to the miserable Palestinian prisoner, demonstrates a real lack of understanding. While severely disappointing, it is the kind of thing that I would expect from a teenager, and is usually the kind of behavior that ends up haunting someone later on when they truly realize the gravity of the situation.

I also think it's important to realize how living in circumstances like she was (being in the army) can inure you to the way your actions might be interpreted by others.

It's a pretty big leap you're making to automatically assume that she's some kind of monster who completely lacks the ability to recognize humanity in others though. It's that kind of automatic extrapolation that convinces so many Israelis that they are judged unfairly by the rest of the world, people who neither understand, nor care to understand their situation before assuming the very worst of them.

I often see people get upset when they feel that their criticism of Israel is automatically assumed to be rooted in anti-semitism, yet they think nothing of adopting similar blanket prejudices about Israelis. This girl is in the army in Israel, where there is a very real conflict going on... one that happens to be split down ethnic and national lines. She was photographed acting in a disrespectful manner to a prisoner, not torturing him or having fun scaring him with electrodes and dogs. She did nothing that should have made you assume that she's unable to see Palestinians as fully human, (a truly awful charge), yet you have no problem casually making that assumption about her.

And unless you yourself have also been in a situation that's similar to the one she finds herself in, it really makes your flip accusation all the worse. It's very easy to judge people when we have the luxury of avoiding situations that could challenge our idealism. And at her age she hasn't yet had the opportunity to expand her own experiences much. To judge her on her outlook, based on YOUR experiences and understanding of the world is extremely unfair. Especially since you aren't even giving her the benefit of the doubt in any way.

Again, it would be different had she done something truly egregious. But the fact is that she really didn't.

displaying a few "war trophies"? :sarcasm:

That if it had been Hamas.....smiling and posing beside Gilad Shalit, hours after he was captured....how she - as an IDF soldier, would of felt.

I am finding her to be pathetic and disgusting.....and pity her. But she does have a right to defend herself, and what she did.....that she utterly fails to see the wrong....makes it even worse.

Amorality at its finest? Really?! THIS is what you think of as the pinnacle of amorality?

When I think of someone who denies the existence of any kind of greater moral truth, I tend to think of people like Stalin. People for whom morality just doesn't even exist. Not this person.

I mean, really... she didn't even actually hurt anyone, (aside from the IDF's PR department that is.) Don't you think it's a bit of a stretch to refer to her as amoral, let alone amorality at its FINEST.

I mean, really... she didn't even actually hurt anyone, (aside from the IDF's PR department that is.)

Treating another human being as a "trophy", does hot hurt anyone....

Try to look at it through the eyes of those prisoners - just once, look past the Israeli prizm. Do you think the palistinians LIKE being portrayed as a dominated people? I know that is not why she had the pictures taken. They were not psychologically directed at the palistinians....they were for HER. Unintended consequences of sharing her bootie with her friends.....but consequences just the same.

I agree with you that the previous poster inflated - but I do think her actions were amoral. The IDF has strict policies, that,if she was still in service, she would probably be court marshalled....so even they acknowledge this is wrong.

I also agree with you that her behaviour and reasoning is immature...however....I worry that 60 years of occupation is allowing young israeli's to find it all too easy to dehumanize the palistinians. I am not blaming them...and I am not even blaming Israel....but I do blame the extended period of occupation.....a victim of her environment. She is messed up. And she is not alone. It is common.