I have dreaded writing this post. A young man is dead. He died in an Israeli military prison. No one seems to know why or how he died. No one who might be able to tell us, seems to want to know the answers to any of these questions.
His name was Tomer Eiges, age 25. He was a Captain in Unit 8200, the army’s elite signals intelligence service. He was arrested last November for unspecified crimes. Not even the IDF itself will tell us why he was arrested or what the charges against him were, except in the vaguest terms. While riding his bicycle home from his base, a van pulled up and essentially kidnapped him off the street. Not even his parents knew where he was for some time.
By all accounts, Tomer was a brilliant boy. Some say he may have been autistic. But this would likely have given him precisely the sharp intellectual skills needed for computer hacking, the main mission of Unit 8200.
The army kept him in prison indefinitely. It began negotiation for a plea bargain. But Tomer resisted. Meanwhile, he languished. A brilliant boy beaten down by a system he had served loyally, and which his family served as well. His father is an engineer at Rafael, one of Israel’s leading military contractors.
Tomer died one night last May. As I wrote above, no one knows how or why. He went to dinner, came back to his room. And the next thing anyone knows he was spitting up and unconscious. Then he died. The whole episode aroused a furor in Israel. When the best and brightest die in custody, people want answers. The military was contrite. It consoled the family by saying Tomer was a good boy, but one who had somehow gone wrong. It promised an official inquiry. It appointed a general with lots of medals and stars on his chest. A sober, serious man who would get to the bottom of this.
The military said…that tests conducted by a United States lab had not given a clear answer on whether he had overdosed on one of two drugs he was taking, which were reported to be antidepressant and anti-psychotic medicines.
“The results show that the concentration of one of the drugs is within the parameters expected as a result of regular dosage. The concentration test for the second drug did not succeed.”
The army noted that “such results occur from time to time” as the test is a complex one.
How is it that when you send toxicology reports to an Israeli lab and then to the world’s most advanced lab in the US, the results still come back with no clear answer? Maybe because the army doesn’t want the answer? Maybe because it killed Tomer, and admitting it would tarnish it in the eyes of the Israeli public. By “killing Tomer” I don’t mean that they murdered him outright. I mean that the entire military justice system and the circumstances which led to placing him under suspicion were, and are deeply flawed.
Further, no one should accept the army’s interpretation of the results. It is in the army’s interest to either distort or lie outright about the results. The results should be made public. Let the public decide what the results mean. Personally, after examining all the available evidence, I don’t believe Tomer did anything which any normal person would consider a crime. I also believe that placing him under suspicion in the first place was a grave error involving his commanding officer and possibly others in Unit 8200 and the IDF’s investigations unit.
While as a parent I am loath to say how a bereaved parent should mourn such a crippling loss, it’s unfortunate that Tomer’s parents have done little more than express concern and heartache for their loss. Unless you are willing to take your case to the media and make a huge stink, the IDF will ignore you, which is exactly what has happened here. Perhaps because of his father’s employment within the Israeli defense industry, he feels conflicted and cannot act. Perhaps there are other reasons. Whatever they might be, without the protest of his parents, the army feels under no obligation to expose the truth.
After an Israeli lawyer wrote (see pictured the military prosecutor’s letter and the response to it) to the military prosecutor demanding an independent investigation, the army responded that there would be none. It was satisfied that the current investigation, in which the army was investigating itself, was sufficient. And why would there be an independent tribunal? No one except a few malcontents with no following are demanding transparency. So why should they wash their dirty linen in public? Why stir up unnecessary trouble?
Permitting the army to investigate itself is like the chief fox appointing a fellow fox to investigate how the chickens died in the hen house. What would he say? Would he tell the chickens who killed their comrade? Or would he protect the fox’s prerogatives?
Why is this important? After all, a single lad done wrong is hardly a story. That happens virtually every day. And it happens to Palestinians even more frequently.
The reason I was the first journalist to name Tomer, his military unit, and his rank is because his death reveals the systematic corruption at the heart of the Israeli security apparatus. It trumps individual rights. It tramples on the average citizen or soldier. And when an individual like Tomer or hundreds of other similarly mistreated soldiers get in the way of the army’s interests, they are tossed away like so much waste. The military censorship regime further reinforces this cult of secrecy. To this day, it prohibits naming Tomer or reporting on what his alleged crime might have been. Israelis accept this horrific bargain because they accept the need for security above all else. As was said of Lenin by one of his biographers: “he cracked more than a few eggs while attempting to make his utopian omelet.” To save and protect a nation, some of those cracked eggs will be those you’re supposed to protect.
I write this blog to be a witness for the Tomers of Israel: the victims, the helpless, the innocent, the disappeared. They have neither voices nor names. But I do. My voice is not loud. It is that “still small voice” that summoned Elijah the Prophet. Perhaps no one will hear it. Perhaps a few will. Perhaps over time the ideas and outrages recounted here will resonate more strongly. At least, that is what I hope.
To read the full series of posts I wrote about the Eiges case, click here.
Richard, this is indeed very sad news. Thank heavens you are “on it.” Please keep us posted. Of course, I suspect foul play…at several levels.
I do not see any chance to find out what happened when his parent are so passive. .
Richard,
I have to say that I am unmoved by this. Of course, within the parameters of Israel’s militarised state, this was an injustice. Tomar served the state and was treated abysmally. But this is the state that Tomar served.
My sympathies go out to the victims of the military machine that Tomar served. My support goes to those Israeli Jews who, despite being born within the heart of the Zionist beast break from it. I don’t have any sympathy for victims of Zionism whose only injustice is not being given equality in the role of oppressor
@ Tony Greenstein: He was 25 years old. I don’t think one should make judgments on who or what someone that young will be. Besides, we don’t know what he allegedly did to deserve this fate. Did he rebel against the Unit? Did he do something contrary to regulations from a motive of conscience?
Do you give the courtesy of being young to young settlers?
How many times you wrote awful words about 8200 guys?
is there anything good you can write about them? would you write favourable words about the Hitler Youth? I identify with the Edelweiss Pirates not the HY they hunted down
25 years old is old enough to know right from wrong and to take a position on serving in the army. Look at those fine young kids in the Shministim who refuse to serve. My tears are reserved for the young children who are abused as if they are adults and people like Iyad Hallak, the autistic boy who was murdered in cold blood.
We will have to agree to disagree
You have a valid point. However, an important morale of this “episode” is that a (virtually) kid who apparently came to know something inconvenient to the regime, lost his life and no one is held accountable. Not even an attempt to use some low level scapegoat.
Yes absolutely Motti. This ‘Jewish State’ thinks nothing of murdering their own if they get in the way. This is the despicable state that has arisen – one that worships only race and strength
The good old zionist way, kill whoever, whenener, and answer to no one. Terrorism at its finest.
“And now of course the Israeli military is going to investigate itself and it is going to find that it in fact has committed no atrocities and no crimes and no one is going to be punished for what happened” ~Mohammad El-Kurd responding to Amy Goodman on the death of 80yo American Palestinian, Omar Assad,
Did we ever learn whether Tomer had been charged with espionage?
@ Never Fear: In fact, he was NOT charged with espionage. The IDF explicitly said so.
A black box in the State of Washington.
“When a prisoner dies, the results of internal death investigations are rarely shared outside the department. Lawmakers and bereaved family members are often left guessing.”
https://crosscut.com/news/2020/08/deaths-wa-prisons-draw-scrutiny-state-legislature
“When a prisoner dies in Washington state, the question of who is to blame often goes unaddressed. Meet the families, and their lawyers, who want answers.”
“Crowell absorbed the information in a daze. Her daughter was dead. How could this have happened?, she thought. I just talked to Stephanie three days ago. She was in a safe place.
Months later, in November, the county gave Crowell the autopsy report. It only raised more questions. The manner of death was undetermined. The cause was unexplained.”
https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2018/jun/5/while-custody-fight-stop-jail-deaths-washington-state/
Sounds as if Washington State is no better than Israel when it comes to protecting their prisoners.
@ Nate: Nice try. But it’s still a fail. Tomer Eiges was not a criminal as these Washington prisoners were. He was never convicted of a crime and never admitted to one. Presumbaly, the WA prisoners were convicted of a crime. I am not defending the procedures of the WA prison system nor minimizing the suffering of their surviving parents and loved ones. But I am making the distinction which you refuse to make.
Not to mention that Tomer Eiges was a brilliant young person serving in the most elite unit in the IDF. As far as society is concerned, he was guilty of no crime (innocent till proven…) There is no comparison between the two scenarios. But again, I can’t fault you for trying. Though you might want to work on more creative scenarios.
There is an exact comparison between the two.
Stephanie Deal, aged 29, was also ‘guilty of no crime’ (innocent till proven..).
She wasn’t tried, much less convicted of anything.
Forty dollars cash bail would have gotten her out of jail, and away from the WA prison system.
But she’s dead now, the same as Tomer.
Her story isn’t a creative scenario, but a tragic fact.
The only real difference is that Richard Silverstein prefers to shame faraway Israel, while ignoring a similar a dysfunctional institutional crisis present in his own State of Washington.
Interesting.
@Nate: You could give a shit about Stephanie Deal. She is a useful prop to divert attention from your real goal to defend death and murder by the Israeli military prison system.
Tomer had no Opportunity to make bail. He was held in prison for 9 months without bail. Nor did anyone but me protest his innocence by name. At least in Stephanie Deal’s case the media could name the victim and mourn her properly. So the cases are entirely dissimilar.
And don’t you dare ever say I ignore the injustices of the Washington or US prison system. I am quite aware of the overall injustices in My own Country. The purpose of this blog is to recount the injustice of Israel and its national security state. If you want to adopt Washington’s failed prison system be my guest. But don’t get all high and mighty on me.
Do not post again in This thread
This is just a case of whataboutism which has become a very common practice in the defence of Israel. It should neither be an acceptable practice in Washington or Israel. These institutions are there to serve the people and the people that put them there have a right to know.
Whataboutism isn’t about deflecting criticism but rather highlighting the hiporacy of people who single out thier target and pretend certain actions do jot take place in other cases.
Richard,
Let me expand a bit on what I previously wrote you. According to the Israeli TV news on Tomer, he was on two different anti-depressant medications while in military prison. They reported that he had 2 previous experiences of strong side effects on the medications but continued to take them. I believe this is a case of medical malpractice by prison medical staff who mistakenly, or not, did not monitor Tomer sufficiently. Serotonin Syndrome is a well known problem when combining certain anti-depressants and can cause the side effects Tomer reported and even his death.
As long as the parents are shtum, the punishment for Tomer’s death will be punishment at the lowest levels, perhaps the prison medical staff. No one’s promotion will be denied. The IMCC (Israeli Military Cyber Complex) will keep on rolling along.
@Yankel: if he had elevated or even fatal levels of serotonin or a severe reaction to it I would think an autopsy and blood draw should be able to detect this, no?
Tomer was found unresponsive with foaming at the mouth.
As per autopsy, no trauma and an inconclusive toxicology report.
All available evidence suggests Tomer died of a seizure and anything other talk, RIchard, is idle speculation and does a great disservice to Tomer’s family and to his memory.
Right?
Wrong! There is ZERO evidence that Tomer died of a seizure. Foaming at the mouth could be many things and no media report to my knowledge has specifically mentioned a seizure. Dear Sasha, by giving Tomer his name back, Richard has done a mitzva for Tomer, who’s name was blotted out by the Israeli regime and it’s laughable and arbitrary censorship laws.
@ Sasha: “All available evidence?” What evidence? Talk about “idle speculation!” You have no evidence. The IDF has “evidence” its concealing. Tell them to release it. Then there will be real evidence.
“A disservice to Tomer?” How dare you. I am the only journalist in the world who reported Tomer’s name and gave him the dignity as a victim of the IDF, he deserved. Don’t you dare accuse me of performing a disservice. Your hasbara efforts here, feeble as they are, are a disservice to truth and decency.
What evidence is the IDF concealing?
@ Never Fear: the full results of the blood tests and toxicology reports.
A secondary toxicology report should have been able to show the specific concentrations of both drugs. Only the SSRI drug level was reported, the second drug was not named and no concentration level was reported. Why? You tell me.
There are two causes of foaming at the mouth, seizures or drug overdose.
Period.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321756#causes
Based on the available evidence, a seizure induced by medications, was the proximate cause of death. Medical negligence may have been a factor.
Tomer’s death was horrible tragedy, but it’s time to move on.
@ Sasha: Once again with the “available evidence!” There is no available evidence. At least not any that’s worth of speculation. It is extremely difficult to die of an overdose of the type of medication he would have been taking (anti-depressant or something similar).
Don’t you dare tell us or anyone “it’s time to move on.” I find that presumptuous and offensive.
You are done in thread. And you are beginning to get on my nerves. So I put you on notice.
@ Yankel: Your comment gave me an idea. I wonder if Tomer had been misprescribed medication and had been taken much too large a dosage. Depending on what drug it was, this could have caused his death. And given the Israeli prison system and the awful medical “care” provided, it’s totally plausible someone made a terrible error in prescribing his meds. Though on the other hand, why wouldn’t the IDF admit this, as it would be easy to pin the blame on the lowly individual who made the error, and so absolve the IDF of overall responsibility.
@ Yankel: I think what you are saying sounds about right. Given the terrible quality of medical care in army prisons, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if this was a case of shocking medical error causing death.
Do you really think Tzahal wants to admit giving terrible medical care in it’s prisons? I don’t think so.