The Israeli police don’t have enough scandal on their plate, what with Maj. Gen. Menashe Arviv accused of accepting bribes from Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto. Now a new scandal (Hebrew) slouches its way toward Tel Aviv to be born. In this case, I break yet another hopeless Israeli gag prohibiting the publication of the name of the suspected sexual harasser. He’s Maj. Gen. Bruno Stein, commander of the central district. Stein is accused of sexually harassing a female subordinate officer.
It should be added that at this point there is an investigation of the charges and evidence underway. But he has not been indicted or faced any formal charges. At this point, the report doesn’t appear to link to the Pinto story but, who knows?
Now, to Israeli courts and journalists: take this post, get the gag order rescinded and let the story be vetted properly and publicly as it should.
This is the result of living in a state that doesn’t hold people accountable for many crimes committed against its more defenseless citizens. It’s inevitable, I suppose, that people in power, whether political or because they are armed to the teeth with guns or tanks or gunships, forget Israeli law protects them only if their victims are Palestinian.
“This is the result of living in a state that doesn’t hold people accountable for many crimes committed against its more defenseless citizen”
Israel’s ex-President is in jail for rape.
Former PM Olmert was haled into the Courts for years while corruption charges were investigated.
The former Chief Rabbi was Israel was recently arrested for bribery.
Mary. Stop uttering drivel.
And maybe you should clean your own house first before criticizing others.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4244044,00.html
@ Shoshana: Shoshie baby, your hasbara is showing. You’ve mentioned 3 notorious prominent figures who were arrested (only one of whom’s been convicted and imprisoned btw), while neglecting the scores of equally or more prominent powerful Israelis who either not been charged with crimes after doing disgusting deeds, were charged but never tried, or were tried but never convicted. This blog is replete with all those stories if you’d care to do some archival research before mouthing your hasbara platitudes.
One of my comment rules is that you speak respectfully to others. Mary Hughes Thompson does not “utter drivel.” In fact, that little nastiness of yours was “utter drivel.”
Don’t ya just love that standard hasbara tactic: if they pin Israel to the wall, distract ’em by pointing to someone else who’s allegedly just as bad. It doesn’t matter how upright or corrupt the PA, China, the U.S. or any number of countries you hasbarists use in this little deflection game, the focus here is on Israel. I know that’s an uncomfortable fact for you to deal with and why you try to change the subject. But don’t try that crap here. We’re onto it and you.
I’m not surprised, do you! On August 5, 2012, The Times of
Israel reported that the sexual harassment complaints in the IDF
has climbed more than 80% since 2007. On November 20, 2013, daily
Ha’aretz reported that nine-in-ten sexual harassment cases in
Israel don’t result in indictment.
http://rehmat1.com/2014/01/14/top-zionist-rabbi-calls-israeli-minister-to-resign/
Seconding Mary Hughes Thompson, and adding: The State of Israel was founded on the basis of a psychology of entitlement-by-force. Take what you can get. And immediately there were excesses even by Israeli norms and these were hidden, became state secrets (or close to). so there was the psychology of unrestricted use of force coupled with cover-up. That was 1948. After that, the State stole land relentlessly from the so-called absentees, the even-more-so-called present-absentees, and the ordinary non-Jewish citizens. Take-what-you-can-get was the norm. Then the politics reduplicated this psychology, with religious parties 9for example only) extorting what-they-could-get for votes. More extortion.
Net: a culture of use-of-force, impunity, immunity, secrecy. Oh yes. And “macho”.
I am never surprised by these stories. I suspect that other cultures lave the same characteristics, but Israel is a prime example.
@Peter Belmont
And what pure and upright country to you hail from Peter, ‘Never Never Land’?
We do not live in the Middle Ages, or the age of the “white man’s burden” or “manifest destiny.” Modern society does not accept colonialism or racism. As Israel touts itself as a progressive Western state, a “villa in the jungle,” it has to answer to these standards of civilized life. It is Israel’s own doing that it is “singled out.”
Peter’s point is well-taken: Israel was founded on the basis of regressive, almost anachronistic, ideas. It probably selected for adventurous and marginal types and has only come into being and persisted on the basis of power certainly not rectitude. Decades of abusing a subject population has to impact daily life everywhere in Israel and Tel Aviv is not far from the WB by any measure. Just as southern planters in the US found it entirely natural to hold people as property and oppress them, so Israelis are accustomed to subjecting others to their will, as in the case reported here. Tourists report regularly how aggressive and ill-mannered Israelis behave generally — just a small hint of the larger pathology.
Israel, as the homeland of the Jews, is 19th century concept. Similarly, there was no Germany or Italy until the latter half of the 19th century. So Davey, is Israel really an anachronism?
“Modern society does not accept colonialism”, unless you happen to live in the Western Sahara, Cyrpus, Tibet, Chechyna, China’s ‘Western Provinces’, etc., because in those places, colonialism is okee doke.
And as far as slavery goes, Davey, that peculiar institution was abolished in America in 1865, but the slave trade continued to flourish in ‘Palestine’ until it was wreaked by the invading armies of the First World War.
Even so, the Negev Bedouin kept African slaves until 1948, when Israel was formed.
So Davey, why don’t you, and Mary and Peter stop singling out Israel.
Really? Who says those situations are “okey-dokey?” The world? Or the colonial powers who have ridden roughshod over those particular countries?
Lawdy, don’t ya just love how the pro-Israel brigades brings in that nasty little tidbit about Negev Bedouin keeping slaves. Gotta get that one in to rack up those hasbara points, don’t we.
As for slavery, when it happens on a national scale & one country does it to another, it’s called “Palestine.”
Dear Mr.Belmont,
The state of Israel was founded upon the need to find a safe refuge for what remained of European Jewry after the unprecedented genocide carried out in camps that the allies refused to bomb.The Palestinian residents of Israel paid a price for the guilt felt by those who could have done more to stop that industrial genocide.
I do not want to appear as a “hasbarist” by “pointing to someone else who’s allegedly just as bad” but the fact of the matter is that the treatment of native Palestinians by Jewish refugees was relatively humane when compared to other great nations treatment of indigenous populations.
There are indeed many things in Israel that need to be corrected but it is somewhat arrogant and certainly counter-productive to sit on the fence and criticize Israel so unilaterally. It is as if the Jews of Israel can do no right.
Udder such a barrage of extreme criticism is it any wonder that the Israeli government retreats to a bunker mentality.
Mr.Belmont, may I suggest that you examine the faults of whatever great nation you come from and then approach the Israeli Palestinian dilemma with a little more tolerance.
“Really? Who says those situations are “okey-dokey?” The world? ”
Well. The EU seems to think the Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus is okay. So much so, that they help fund it!
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=327329
When will the EU help to fund the illegal settlement of Judea and Samaria?
Mr. Silverstein, its nasty to belittle shoshana by “shoshi babe” of yours and calling “hasbara” to any fact that you dont like belittle you
@ Shay: What’s worse? Belittling a person’s name or belittling facts and truth? People, even those who disagree with me, who use facts along with proper context in their arguments are treated here with respect. Those who grandstand & seek to score pro-Israel points aren’t accorded respect. “Hasbara” is pro-Israel propaganda, precisely what she offers. Not “fact” as you claim, but opinion presented as fact. Or, at best, fact presented devoid of context. Again precisely her MO & that of thousands of commenters who preceded her here. Their style, their arguments, their approach hardly varies. Hence the lack of respect I show them.