The video and the article below provide the most important evidence yet that Israel’s occupation forces, especially the border police, need to be disbanded, de-funded, or completely overhauled, and that the United States funds that support such forces need to be re-examined and allocated by the United States Congress. This is not just an exception. These cases have been reported routinely by Palestinians for decades, and no one would believe them because the assumption was that the enemies of Israel just spin endless fabrications and propaganda. But here is the evidence for Americans to see, and to help Congress overhaul this corrupt system.
According to recent polls a whopping 69% of American Jews favoring the United States pressuring Israel into a settlement with the Palestinians! This suggests an amazing level of courage in the Jewish community that I believe is inspired negatively by the criminal acts perpetrated in Gaza in the winter, and positively by Obama’s courage and determination in recent weeks and months to truly re-make a Middle East that will finally be at peace with a secure and more democratic Israel.
A good place to start right now, however, is re-examining funding for any Israeli agency that is found to be abusive of Palestinians. This should happen immediately. It would also be good if more and more representatives of the Jewish community and the Israeli community actively apologize to the victims of such incidents.
These are necessary steps along the road to a final settlement. Apologies are powerful. They change reality. They restore the dignity of the abused and the abuser at the same time, and they point the way to a new future. Israelis are badly in need of a new future, one in which they are no longer shamed by abusing other people, just as Palestinians are in need of a new future devoid of shame. With those words of encouragement for a new future that may be coming, I now need to subject you to these horrendous images.
© Marc GopinBorder Police upload videos of their abuse of Palestinians to YouTube
By Uri BlauBorder Policemen have filmed themselves abusing and humiliating Palestinians in videos they have posted on YouTube over the past year.
In one clip uploaded to the video sharing website an Arab youth is shown in arid terrain, slapping himself, while a voice is heard instructing him to say “I love you, Border Police,” and “I will f**k you, Palestine,” in Arabic. The victim is forced to respond to everything he is ordered to do, to the raucous laughter of the cameraman and his friends, all Border Policemen.
In another video, a Palestinian is seen sitting inside a vehicle reciting the words “One Hummus and one ful [cooked broad beans], I love you Border Police” (which rhymes in Hebrew), while applause and shouting is heard in the background.
In most of the videos the faces of Border Policemen are not shown and the locations of where they were filmed is unclear.
Forcing Palestinians to sing is a common occurrence and is perceived by Border Policeman as quite humorous, it has emerged from recent Haaretzinterviews with Border policemen.
The Border Police said in response: “Over the last few years there has been a drop of dozens of percent in the complaints against Border Policemen over the use of unauthorized force and inappropriate behavior.
“The Border Police has made it a personal mission to uphold values of maintaining respect for people and their rights, and the members of the force are taught to respect those values.”
The Border Police added in the statement that its officer for public complaints continues to deal with the matter of the videos, which it said have been on YouTube since 2008.
The full article appears in Haaretz Magazine [on Friday, June 19, 2009].
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