Doron Zahavi, pixellated (Eli Attias)
Doron Zahavi, who still can be called only “Captain George” in the Israeli media, has gone public with his grievance against the IDF, which employed him to torture kidnapped Arabs who were thought to have intelligence about affairs in Lebanon or Syria, specifically Israeli prisoners of war. Among those he worked his wonders on was Mustafa Dirani, who was thought to have specific knowledge of the whereabouts of Ron Arad. Yossi Gurvitz reports ( in Hebrew) that Zahavi ordered one of his subordinates to undress and rape Dirani. Another Zahavi subordinate, who blew the whistle on the whole military torture complex he ran, says his commander sodomized Dirani with a nightstick.
The brave torturer has the effrontery to claim that the anal lacerations Dirani suffered were due to “constipation,” for which they gave him a laxative that caused him to soil himself. The victim says he was forced to wear a diaper constantly even when it contained excrement. And such treatment, as Gurvitz confirms and as I’ve reported here previously is SOP for the Israeli torture apparatus.
There are those who applaud the Israeli Supreme Court for outlawing torture in a landmark ruling. But unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the Israeli rulings appear to be only advisory and not declarative. The security apparatus feels emboldened to act as it wishes, court ruling or no. That’s why IDF Gen. Yair Naveh ordered Palestinian militants murdered in cold blood though they were unarmed, in direct violation of a Supreme Court ruling. Note, that the brave justices, when offered an opportunity to review Naveh’s brazen violation of their ruling, refused to do so, in characteristically timid fashion.
Israeli prison guard offering Mustafa Dirani a hearty 'a votre sante' on his release from prison (Life)
Gurvitz notes that, like the CIA tapes of waterboarding of Al Qaeda suspects which were erased, the Dirani interrogation tapes mysteriously disappeared. They must’ve thought where there’s no smoke there can be no fire. If the tapes had survived the fire might have burned not just Zahavi and his boss, but a very senior IDF commander, Amos Gilad. That’s pretty high up the food chain. Zahavi claims Gilad was watching the interrogations in real-time.
Despite the destruction of key evidence, the IDF didn’t bargain for a disgruntled subordinate stricken by conscience for the horrible things he did there, would spill the beans and expose the whole sordid mess publicly. That whistleblower himself has been threatened with state prosecution for perpetrating some of the alleged crimes of which he charges Zahavi. The Israeli motto seems to be: let no good deed go unpunished.
On the strength of this claim and the notoriety that derived from it, Zahavi’s notorious Unit 504 was disbanded (only to re-emerge in recent months in all its former glory), Dirani was freed, and the IDF officer was cashiered. Though he resurfaced as the Israeli police’s chief anti-Arab enforcer for East Jerusalem. He has the title of “liaison” to the Palestinian community. But Jouad Siam knows first hand what that means. Zahavi threatened to destroy the home of the Silwan activist and to destroy the community organization he founded if he refused to inform on his fellow Palestinians.
Dirani is now suing the Israeli government for the abuse he suffered and the Israeli Supreme Court ruled the trial may go forward. Zahavi too is suing the government because it didn’t give him a medal for the dirty work he did on its behalf. He wants a tidy sum in return for keeping his mouth shut. He even says he’d take a job in Alaska (I didn’t know there were any IDF outposts there or any torture victims for him to work on) if they’d at least treated him with the respect he deserved. This reminds me of a Martin Scorsese mafia pic in which the disaffected made-guy goes to the don and whines about being cut out of the spoils and not getting what he has coming to him. Usually the guy is offed in the next reel, though I’m not sure the IDF has gotten to the point where it gets rid of its own rotten apples in that fashion.
Lest you doubt he is a rotten apple, take a peek at this:
“If this goes to court, what I told you today is just the teaser,” he threatens, “Trust me – no one really wants me to climb up to the stand. If I have to stand there and speak of Dirani, you’ll find out I have plenty more to say about how the apparatus acts when it needs to hide all sorts of things […] and everyone is a liar, which is why the country is where it is today, no deterrence, nothing. And in the end? I’m the apparatus’ scapegoat.”
If he doesn’t get the Israel Prize for torture he’s going to sing all day on the stand and tell the world how dirty the IDF and security apparatus is. Now, this could be the disgruntled ravings of an extortionist who’s bluffing; or this guy has the goods and he’s willing to tell the world just how vile and dirty the entire Israeli security system is. I’d say the truth is somewhere in between. My guess is that while he does have plenty of dirt, that he’s more interested in upping the price for his silence than telling all the dirty little secrets. He’s too much a company man and probably too much a blowhard and coward to really tell it all. But that’s just a guess.
Gurvitz’s closing paragraph is poignant and compelling:
The Dirani-George case, had it been treated properly, may have become the 300 Line affair of the 504 unit. This did not happen, simply because the public does not wish to know. In 2012 Israel (as in 1994 Israel, as in 1984 Israel) the idea that every person – even Dirani, even George – is a human being, which must not be deprived by reducing him to quivering piece of meat, lying in its own excrement, is still a radical one.
I would only add that the only reason the 300 Line affair was exposed was that a senior IDF commander was accused of a crime he didn’t commit and while the entire government apparatus closed ranks behind the lying scumbag of a Shin Bet chief who perpetrated the coverup, the military officer wouldn’t go quietly. Also, there were a few brave media outlets which defied censorship and reported the scandal. In the Zahavi case there are no IDF sacrificial lambs, nor is there a brave media ready to defy the censor and spill the beans. But Gurvitz’s main claim is correct: the Israeli public doesn’t give a crap about the suffering of an Arab. Let Dirani rot in hell would be the prevailing wisdom.
I noticed something very peculiar about Yossi’s post when it was republished at 972 Magazine. The link to my own post which exposed the name of Doron Zahavi, which Yossi graciously included in his own blog post, was gone once it was republished at 972. It’s fairly easy to figure out why. The 972 editor who republished made a judgement that merely by linking to my post they might bring the wrath of the Israeli security services on them.
Now, to be clear, it is not illegal (yet) in Israel to link to a foreign source which exposes the identity of an Israeli security officer. In fact, Zahavi is no longer in the IDF and so isn’t even protected by the traditional proffer of anonymity offered to military and intelligence officers in the media. But 972 figured self-censorship was the better part of valor. It’s what I call pre-emptive self-censorship. Linking to my blog may not be illegal yet, but let’s err on the side of caution and not give the security goons an excuse to go after us. I understand the dangers faced by the dissenting media inside Israel. But still, if they don’t have courage, who will? So I think it was essentially a cowardly act.
Yossi’s act of linking to me was brave such principled blogging is why he’s been interrogated by the police for his blog. As for 972? Not so much.
If anyone has a photo of the real Captain George, please let me know. He deserves to have his name and image up in lights.
Let’s add to this an only tangentially related matter that another 972 writer, Dimi Reider took a nasty potshot at me that was riddled with inaccuracies in his own 972 column. When I asked Noam Sheizaf for the right of reply in a 972 post he never answered. So much for progressive solidarity and fairness.
UPDATE: Noam Sheizaf and Dimi Reider have replied to my criticisms above: Sheizaf says the link to my Doron Zahavi post was replaced when it was republished at 972 through an “innocent mistake” that will be corrected. I made the assumptions I did above based on what I saw on the website. In response to his question why I didn’t bother to contact him directly before speaking publicly about it, I reminded him of his lack of response to my last message. We’re all human beings and base our judgments and responses on how others treat us. Sheizaf apparently feels I’ve gored his and 972’s ox, but doesn’t seem to understand that others may feel their own ox has been gored as well.
There is another possible explanation for the disappearance of that link. That is that Yossi republished the article with the link and someone else removed it. Possibly someone motivated by pique at my strong response to Dimi Reider’s post. If that’s the case, then the motives are even pettier than the reason I ascribed above.
Reider says one of my main criticisms of the innacuracy of his characterization of my claims about the drone strike resulted from a “typo” on his part.
Silverstein has published Tikun Olam since 2003, It exposes the secrets of the Israeli national security state. He lives in Seattle, but his heart is in the east. He publishes regularly at Middle East Eye and Jacobin Magazine. His work has also appeared in Al Jazeera English, The Nation, Truthout and other outlets.
” Yossi Gurvitz reports ( in Hebrew) that Zahavi ordered one of his subordinates to undress and rape Dirani. Another Zahavi subordinate, who blew the whistle on the whole military torture complex he ran, says his commander sodomized Dirani with a nightstick.”
That’s not what Gurvitz reports.
Gurvitz reports that Captain Gorge ordered one of the soldiers to undress and approach Dirani in a THREATENING MANNER, and told Dirani that the soldier is going to rape him. Capetian Gorge reprimand the soldier – who was embarrass by the situation – telling him it was a serious matter and he shouldn’t smile.
שהוא אמר לחייל צה”ל להתפשט ולהתקרב לדיראני באופן מאיים, ואמר לדיראני שהחייל עומד לאנוס אותו. הוא אף נזף בחייל שחייך במבוכה ואמר לו “זה עסק רציני.”
Gurvitz doesn’t claim that there is a witness who saw Gurvitz rapping Dirani with a nightstick, where did you get that from ?
On the contrary, this is what Yossi’s English translation of his blog post states (& I linked to it so you have no excuse for missing it):
Do you not understand the insider wink-wink, nudge-nudge in this “banter” between boss & subordinate. This was a carefully orchestrated operation planned beforehand between Zahavi & the would be “rapist.”
Your last sentence is a total mess & you might want to devote more care next time before you publish. You certainly didn’t mean to say that “a witness saw Gurvitz rapping Dirani…” Gurvitz didn’t “rapp” or rape anyone. The only reason we know about all this is because of another whistleblower who I’ve written a post about which you can find here, who reported the details of what Zahavi did to Dirani.
There is a huge difference between ordering a soldier to rape Dirani (which is what you reported) to ordering a soldier to approach Dirani in a threatening manner (which is what Gurvits reported).
Please link to your original story about the whistle-blower i was unable to find it.
In the last sentence just replace the 2nd Gurvits, with cap. Gorge. and rapping with raping.
You’ve conveniently left out the fact that Zahavi ordered the soldier to take off his clothes. Then he ordered the naked soldier to approach Dirani. What message do you think that was conveying? That they were going for a walk in the garden? Clearly he was threatening him with real rape as opposed to “merely” rape by pipe as actually happened.
If you wish to be thick-headed you’re welcome to it. But please don’t expect us to fall for what you’re peddling.
https://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2011/12/18/captain-george-aka-doron-zahavi-rides-again/
And you call me think headed ?
just a reminder, you quoted Gurvitz saying “Yossi Gurvitz reports ( in Hebrew) that Zahavi ordered one of his subordinates to undress and rape Dirani.”
Gurvitz never said that, and between i didn’t leave anything out. I quoted correctly on my first response.
Capt. George was playing psy-ops on Dirani, as part he ordered the soldier to undress, it is entirely different then ordering the soldier to rape Dirani. Such never happened.
What is wrong with you? Have you missed this passage?
I’m rapidly losing both patience & interest in this exchange. If you want to be a clod, do so on your own time somewhere else.
Don’t post another comment in this thread. You’re done here.
Israel ant its agents are no different than any of the brutal Arab or Iranian dictatorships they constantly criticize. The constant propaganda to show it as a democratic, developed, humane society is not going to change this fact.
It’s a shame because the country was created out of the ashes of horrible human acts and it should have become the nighest example of human dignity in the World. Instead, it is fast declining to the bottom of the pit, using our assistance and tax dollars.
I’ve pretty much struck 972 off my blog-list. Some of the writers are worth reading but the editors will immediately suppress any comments that are contrary to the 972 party line.
I’m beginning to think that this nasty, my-way-or-the-highway edge is just the way Israelis are, on either side of the issue. Maybe its the de-salinated water they drink.
Who needs it. There are enough well-run blogs on the topic and life is short.
“I’m beginning to think that this nasty, my-way-or-the-highway edge is just the way Israelis are,”
WTF?
Yep. It’s the propaganda dance they are famous for. War by deception is the motto,is that not right?
So of Ron Arad’s whereabouts had been accounted for, than this sordid affair could have been avoided.
If you were a dedicated fighter on behalf of your nation and kidnapped by the enemy and tortured for information that would help the enemy chances are you wouldn’t have revealed anything you know, if you were tough enough. Dirani apparently was tough enough. Not to mention that Dirani may not have known anything. We’ve seen Israel kidnap Dirar Abusisi in the belief he could help free Gilad Shalit. That turned out to be based on Hamas trickery. Who knows on what intelligence info Israel based the decision to kidnap Dirani?
There are those who applaud the Israeli Supreme Court for outlawing torture in a landmark ruling.
Richard, the Israeli Supreme Court didn’t outlaw torture at all. In paragraph 38 of its ruling, it allowed torture to meet immediate and otherwise unavoidable grievous threats to innocent life. So that whenever Israel wants to torture someone, it declares them a grievous threat et voilà, business as usual.
Israel’s “landmark rulings” always come with a caveat that renders them irrelevant. My latest blog post is precisely devoted to this issue.
I should’ve been more precise & you are right. The Court always leaves a loophole big enough for a Mack truck to drive through.
It is amazing what you people are quibbling about. The fact is the man was tortured. How twisted can you be to think otherwise whether the man was penetrated or not? It is like Abu Graib when the soldiers put attack dogs on the prisoners. It is no less torture because the dogs did not bite anyone. The perpetrators are the ones who need to be in prison. Did these tactics reveal any information? Probably not. Freaking barbarians.
why does this surprise anyone America has been the Israeli whore for years…
Richard,
One small correction. The 300 bus incident was uncovered by the then Israeli paper Hadashot, and the Israeli photographer Alex Libak who photographed the hostage takers alive. As a result, as punishment for breaking the gag order, the paper was closed for four days. The only reason Libak was able to take that picture was because the Military Police were slow in cordoning off the area and blocking access to the press. I have it on personal knowledge that a number of Military Police were court-martialed as a result.
Michael