Israel/Defense Forces/T-shirt affair
The Israel T-Shirt controversy occured in early 2009 when the practice of soldiers printing up T-shirts with offensive messages became news in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The Israel Defence Forces declared that the T-shirts "are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless. This type of humour is unacceptable. Commanders are instructed to use disciplinary tools against those who produce T-shirts of this type."[1]
Contents
History
T-shirts of this nature are known to have been produced in 2006 and 2007[2] but only became news internationally in 2009,[1] days after Israeli soldiers who had taken part in Operation Cast Lead in 2008–2009 criticized the rules of engagement that permitted killing of civilians and destruction of property.[3]
Offensive designs
According to the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, IDF soldiers sometimes order T-shirts with offensive anti-Arab images to commemorate the end of their basic training or field duty. [2] Offensive designs have included a child carrying a gun in the crosshairs of a rifle with the message "The smaller, the harder." [4] 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."[4]
Other designs are dead babies, mothers weeping on their children's graves, a gun aimed at a child, bombed mosques, the message "better use Durex" next to a picture of a dead Palestinian baby with his weeping mother and a teddy bear[5] a pregnant Palestinian woman with a bull's-eye superimposed on her belly, with the slogan, in English, "1 shot, 2 kills" a Palestinian baby who grows into a combative boy and then an armed adult with the inscription "No matter how it begins, we'll put an end to it" the slogan "Let every Arab mother know that her son's fate is in my hands!" and a drawing depicting an Israeli soldier as the Angel of Death, next to a gun and an Arab town.
IDF response
The IDF Spokesman's Office responded: "Military regulations do not apply to civilian clothing, including shirts produced at the end of basic training and various courses. The designs are printed at the soldiers' private initiative, and on civilian shirts. The examples raised by Haaretz are not in keeping with the values of the IDF spirit, not representative of IDF life, and are in poor taste. Humor of this kind deserves every condemnation and excoriation. The IDF intends to take action for the immediate eradication of this phenomenon. To this end, it is emphasizing to commanding officers that it is appropriate, among other things, to take discretionary and disciplinary measures against those involved in acts of this sort."[2]
Manufacturer's response
The manager of Adiv, a T-shirt print shop, says the company prints around 1,000 different patterns each month, with soldiers accounting for about half. "There have been a few times when commanding officers called and said, 'How can you print things like that for soldiers?'" he says. "For example, with shirts that trashed the Arabs too much. I told them it's a private company, and I'm not interested in the content. I can print whatever I like. We're neutral. There have always been some more extreme and some less so. It's just that now more people are making shirts."[2]
External Links
References
- ↑ a b Israel Military condemns soldiers' shocking T-shirts The Independent 22nd Mar 2009.
- ↑ a b c d Dead Palestinian babies and bombed mosques IDF fashion 2009, Haaretz 20th March 2009, archived CounterCurrents 05 Dec 2009.
- ↑ Fifty-four testimonies of Israeli combat soldiers about their experiences in Operation Cast Lead "once we go in you'll have no space left on your rifle butt, you'll have to mark your X-s on your shirt sleeves" Breaking the Silence 15th Jul 2009.
- ↑ a b Israeli Army T-Shirts Mock Gaza Killings, Sky News, 20 Mar 2009
- ↑ Israeli Army T-Shirts Mock Gaza Killings, Yahoo News, 20 Mar 2009.
