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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel army rides out T-shirt row |
| 2009-03-24 |
| Israeli officials have described as "tasteless" and inconsistent with army values a popular military pastime of printing violent cartoons on T-shirts. An investigation in Haaretz daily says the customised shirts are often ordered when troops finish training courses. One example shows a pregnant Arab women in the cross-hairs of a sniper's sight with the legend "1 shot 2 kills". Another design shows a child being similarly targeted with the slogan "the smaller they are, the harder it is". In both images the people being targeted appear to be carrying weapons. A third T-shirt design shows a dead Palestinian baby and the words "Better use Durex" (condoms). An army statement said the customised clothing was produced outside military auspices, but it pledged to stamp out the use of such imagery by soldiers. "The examples presented by the Haaretz reporter are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless," the military statement said. "This type of humour is unbecoming and should be condemned." But it admitted that until now there were no military guidelines governing "acceptable civilian clothing" made by its soldiers. The Israeli military has faced heavy criticism for causing high levels of civilian casualties during its recent Gaza offensive. The army frequently says it takes care to avoid civilian casualties and blames Palestinian militants for putting them in harm's way. A sociologist quoted by Haaretz, Orna Sasson-Levy of Bar-Ilan University, warned the designs could strengthen, stimulate and legitimise aggression towards Palestinians in the occupied territories. "There is... increasing callousness," she said. "There is a perception that the Palestinian is not a person, a human being entitled to basic rights and therefore anything may be done to him." The Haaretz investigation discovered numerous T-shirts depicting violence against Palestinians and appearing to celebrate sexual assault. Other designs appeared to bear witness to officially prohibited practices, such as "confirming the kill" (shooting lifeless enemies' bodies in the head to ensure they are dead), or deliberately harming religious sites and non-combatants. The shirts are often printed up to mark the end of basic training and other military courses. The Tel Aviv clothing firm Adiv, which made many of the shirts, did not comment on the Haaretz report. It prints up about 500 different patterns for military units each month, Haaretz says, mostly jokes about army life and "a handful reflecting particular aggressiveness, violence and vulgarity". On Monday, Israel's chief of staff defended his troops against a rising tide of criticism. "I tell you that this is a moral and ideological army," Lt-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi said in a speech to new recruits. "I have no doubt that exceptional events will be dealt with. We took every measure possible to reduce harm to the innocent [in Gaza]." The Haaretz report says the T-shirts tend to be worn strictly in private or in barracks because of adverse civilian reactions and are seen by army psychologists as an expression of bonding within a small, tight-knit unit. |
| Posted by:Beavis |
| #8 I still have a T-shirt tucked away somewhere from my days in the the Philippines: Bert with a rifle, with Ernie as a spotter. "There's another one, Bert!" "Consider him dead, Ernie." Sick and deeply-black dark military humor, indeed |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-03-24 21:15 |
| #7 Ah... the old sick and deeply-black dark military humor rides again. Yeah, it does tend to freak out innocent and unworldly civilians, when the encounter it at full strength. Kinda fun to watch them squawk and flap around, actually. My personal fave, is the tee that I spotted during Desert Storm, with a silhouette of a camel in the circles of a gunsite, and the motto, "I'd Fly 10,000 Miles to Smoke a Camel" |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2009-03-24 19:38 |
| #6 Well if they're armed and fighting they're combatants, not civilians. And if they're posing as civilians they're illegal combatants committing a war crime. The Geneva Conventions are supposed to protect real civilians, persons who are not participating in combat (not even as human shields.) |
| Posted by: Clort Elmath1772 2009-03-24 17:53 |
| #5 Imagine that. Use civilians as weapons, all the sudden they aren't respecing civilians. |
| Posted by: flash91 2009-03-24 17:30 |
| #4 That's sexy. Where can I buy one? |
| Posted by: Bisa 2009-03-24 13:46 |
| #3 CALL 911!! My panties are in a twist! Well, yeah, it's the beeb reporting about what haaretz (IIUC, the israeli answer to french libération or the UK al gaurdian) said, so, their panties ARE in a twist, no doubt. I think the jooooos should try doing kiddies shows about martyrdom and killing ennemies and conquering the world, arabs seem to get away from that with no one being bothered. Obviously, jock humor tee-shirts are worse than suicide bombers. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2009-03-24 12:55 |
| #2 Shows that the generation which grew with Oslo War, is more refractory to brainwashing than their parents. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-24 11:46 |
| #1 CALL 911!! My panties are in a twist! |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2009-03-24 10:48 |