Yotam Vilk says the image of Israeli soldiers killing an unarmed Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip is seared in his mind.

An officer in the armored corps, Vilk said the instructions were to shoot any unauthorized person who entered an Israeli-controlled buffer zone in Gaza. He saw at least 12 people killed, he said, but it is the shooting of the teen that he can’t shake.

“He died as part of a bigger story. As part of the policy of staying there and not seeing Palestinians as people,” Vilk, 28, told The Associated Press.

21 points

Shocking that only a small minority grows a conscious.

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6 points

What’s so shocking? Soldiers are specifically chosen from people who obey first and ask questions later if at all. And that mindset is further drilled into their heads during training.

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17 points

In Israel they’re conscripted rather than specifically chosen.

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2 points

Sure, but the commander still chooses who to send where. It’s not like someone with the attitude of “don’t tell me what to do” will be sent to murder civilians. They’re still gonna send someone who acts first, thinks later.

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0 points
*

There are examples of people who rather go to jail than participate in genocide. It’s possible, the majority of society just doesn’t want to resist the system. The majority of people is more okay with participating in genocide than with facing the consequences of doing the right thing. In Nazi Germany they would have been those who were “just following orders“.

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7 points

In Israel they’re all conscripts. I get your point that in a professional army they’d self select, but this is basically a cross section of Israeli society (orthodox Jews excepted).

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0 points

They’re raised from birth to hate each other on both sides.

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1 point

That’s… not untrue, but frankly I don’t think Palestinian kids need any help hating Israelis. You know, with the whole genocide thing.

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10 points

At a certain point conscripts don’t want to get hung for fanatic’s war crimes.

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-9 points

This is a nothing burger and frankly reflects badly on AP’s journalistic standards.

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6 points
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Oh yes crimes against humanity, nothing to see here Sprinkle some crack on them and let’s get out of here.

Fucking putz.

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-4 points

The article isn’t about the crimes against humanity though. It’s about this:

Vilk is among a growing number of Israeli soldiers speaking out against the 15-month conflict and refusing to serve anymore, saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines. While the movement is small — some 200 soldiers signed a letter saying they’d stop fighting if the government didn’t secure a ceasefire — soldiers say it’s the tip of the iceberg and they want others to come forward.

I mean it’s 200 people; nothing is gonna come out of this, hence it being a nothing burger.

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1 point

They should keep fighting. Just switch side.

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