7 Responses

1. IDF is apologizing for killing “good” terrorist? when will they start killing “bad” terrorists?

2. when they apologize for all the jews they killed intentionally…..

3. Moshele, if only your heart and sechel matched the size of your mouth, Moshiach would be here. From the comfort of Williamsburg or Boro Park, you taunt Israeli soldiers who are moser nefesh and moser guf every day anew to keep the Israeli civilians safe. You may even join Naturei Karta reshaim paying shiva calls to dead Arab terrorists, or kiss and hug the president of Iran who is committed to destroying Eretz Yisroel.

4. In general (not talking about this specific case) however bad the police/security in Israel treat the Chareidim, they treat Arabs (even non-violent ones, yes they exist) much much worse. I am sure there are countless untold stories of Police/Security killing or beating Arabs for unjustified reasons, and no ones knows about it.

5. Well-trained and well-disciplined troops (and police) don’t kill people “by accident.” Some possible causes here:

   1) What soldiers are doing on the Gaza border and in the territories is policing, which has its own set of skills. IDF troops are trained for combat. These are two very different things, and the IDF should be training people specially for policing.

   2) The psychological sets for policing and combat are different. Policing actually requires much more self-control and steady nerves than combat, and you can’t send just anybody into a policing situation. You have to screen for anger control and ability to remain calm under provocation.

   3) There have to be very clear guidelines about when and when not to shoot, or to use other physical force. It looks like the IDF may not be doing a good job here.

   4) There has to be accountability. Soldiers (and police officers) have to know that when they do not obey the guidelines that they will be punished. And realize that when soldiers/police learn that they can beat up or shoot Arabs with no punishment that they can carry that over into beating up chareidim, Ethiopians, or anybody else that gets in the way.

   It looks like Israel needs to completely review and make corrections to its policy for policing and use of force. Killing people (even terrorists) “by accident” and beating up demonstrators are not acceptable in a civilized country.

6. The headline is in direct contradiction to the article. And the article is a muddle. I think, when you sort out the factoids jumbled into this article, that IDF soldiers mistakenly killed Palestinian border guards, because the IDF soldiers thought the border guards were terrorists. But I cannot be sure about this, because the article is an incoherent mess, worse than YWN’s usual inaccuracies.

7. There was a immensely bloody pogrom in Kishinev (at that time , in 1903 it was part of Russia). Rabbi Baruch Ber Lebovitz ז”ל, the Rosh Yeshiva of Kaminetz, gave a drasha. He lifted up his hands and said that without Torah his hands would be filled with blood. Living among the Arabs and having been under siege by them for more than 100 years has taken a heavy toll. There is inevitably a price to pay. Golda Meir told the Arabs (I am quoting her only because what she said is true) that she is not sure whether we (the Jews) can forgive them for killing our sons and daughters, but she was definitely sure we could not forgive the Arabs for forcing us to kill their sons and daughters. Torah education is not widespread in all the sectors of the population in EY, and definitely not in the Israeli army and police forces, to combat the pernicious influence of the Arabs and their midos. I am talking not only about cruelty, but also dishonesty, and immorality. We are still doing far better than the US armed forces. A highly decorated US Seal recently faced trial for killing a captured, wounded ISIS terrorist and taking photos of himself holding the dead terrorist’s head by his hairs. Baruch HaShem, we are not hold there.