The Israeli army is at the centre of a second controversy over the moral conduct of its soldiers in as many days.
The t-shirts were printed for Israeli soldiers at the end of periods of deployment or training courses and were discovered by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
One, printed for a platoon of Israeli snipers depicts an armed Palestinian pregnant women caught in the crosshairs of a rifle, with the disturbing caption in English: “1 shot 2 kills”.
Another depicts a child carrying a gun also in the centre of a target.
“The smaller, the harder,” read the words on the t-shirt.
According to a soldier interviewed by the newspaper, the message has a double meaning: “It’s a kid, so you’ve got a little more of a problem, morally and also the target is smaller.”
Another shows an Israeli soldier blowing up a mosque and reads “Only God forgives”.
Above a ninja figure, yet another shirt bears the slogan “Won’t chill until I confirm a kill”.
The revelations, coming so soon after Israel’s offensive in Gaza in which hundreds of civilians were killed – many of them women and children – are causing outrage.
Perhaps the most shocking design shows a Palestinian mother weeping next to her dead baby’s grave, also in the crosshairs of a rifle.
It suggests it would have been better if the child had never been born, with the slogan “Better use Durex”.
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March 25, 2009 at 11:08 am
jonolan
So, they’re batting about 500 (50%) for offensiveness. Two crude but acceptable t-shirts that accept the nature of the conflict and two that serve no purpose but to stoke hatred. That’s about par for the course in “military leisure wear.”
Face it, soldiers aren’t “nice people.” We do the bloody, nasty, soul-staining work of protecting our people. In the case of Israelis and Americans they normally do it in horrible conditions and against enemies who refuse to follow any “civilized” rules of engagement. Such gallows humor become the norm, possibly in an attempt to sublimate rage and frustration in a manner other than real violations of the rules of war.
I’d worry a lot more if these were civilian wear and started being popular in shopping malls.
March 25, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Abu Sinan
Jonolan,
Your point is a bit astray. Israel doesnt have a volunteer army, all males must serve in it (with a few exceptions). This fact really militarises Israeli society.
The fact that every male in Israel is required to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces means that the attitude behind these shirts is indeed common in the civilian (not so) population of Israel.
As a matter of fact, one could make a good argument that the non professional sodiers in the IDF are actually WORSE than the professional full time solders. These are the ones crapping and peeing all over Palestinian houses, shooting civilians and causing the major issues talk about here.
I think, in the case of Israel, the civilian (reserve) members of the Israeli forces indicate just how bad the Israeli general population has gotten. Take this from a former member of the US DoD who has worked with Israeli soldiers.
March 25, 2009 at 10:33 pm
jonolan
You have a point, Abu Sinan. It is somewhat ameliorated by the fact that the “requirement” for service has so many deferrals these days, that I’m told – whined at actually – by Israelis that fewer than 40% of the current generation actually ever serve at all.
I’d also be interested in knowing how widespread this phenomenon is. The international media loves portraying Israel and Israelis as wholly evil, so I’m forced to always question the scope of any “outrageous” behavior.
Of course the actual Palestinian viewpoint is almost completely unheard of in the West at all, so I guess it all balances out. I may be one of fewer than 100 Americans who’s ever heard of the Ma’an News Agency, much less listened to it.
March 26, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Abu Sinan
Jonolan,
You write:
“The international media loves portraying Israel and Israelis as wholly evil, so I’m forced to always question the scope of any “outrageous” behavior.”
Really? I read a lot of news. I am actually a news junky and read papers from around the world in English, German, Spanish and Arabic. I cannot say I have ever read a paper where Israelis are portrayed as evil.
Some of the worse stuff comes from sections of the Arabic press, but it is interesting to note that it really doesnt rise to the claim that you are making, and that these papers operate with the permission (or often ownership) of governments that are friendly with Israel and some receive large amounts of US aid, ie Egypt.
Most of what I have read in said papers would equal some of what is said about Palestinians in sections of the Israeli press.
March 28, 2009 at 7:54 am
souvenirsandscars
Jonolan,
I worry when ANYONE – of any race/religion – wears T-shirts that depict or encourage the murder of civilian women and children. Then again, that’s just me….
And please. Don’t pull the venting excuse for them. That’s just wrong on so many levels.
March 28, 2009 at 11:30 am
jonolan
Interesting…earlier there were two more picture in either this post or the article that it cited. Those pictures are no longer up. They depicted other t-shirts – one targeting a masjid and one insulting a grieving Palestinian mother at her child’s grave.
I found the two that are no longer posted more offensive and to less point other than hatred than the ones remaining.
souvenirsandscars, you might want to note though that two remaining do not depict civilians. Both the woman and the child are armed with rifles. It is a sad fact that such fighters exist within Hamas.
As for the soldiers’ venting being an “excuse,” not really. It was just an possible explanation – put forth by another old soldier (me) – for the behavior.
March 28, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Parsin
This shows the real face of these “civilized” racists.
Israel has come to the end.
BTW, we need to learn new definitions for “civilized people”== those who can make atomic bombs, have sophisticated chemical weapons, kill millions in a single attack, violate human rights in their own favor, make torture, invade other countries, build the most advanced jails (Guantanamo), . . . ………..and kill pregnant women . . .
April 14, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Tony
Thanks for the visit to my blog.
That is terrible those t-shirts. What is going on in the middle east is so sad for all the innocent people who die in their stupid wars