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Friday 08 Jan 2016 - 13:54 Makkah mean time-28-3-1437
Tel Aviv, (IINA) - Avihai Stollar enlisted in the Israeli army in 2001 at the age of 18, after news flashes about bombings across Israel convinced him he should protect his country and his family, DPA reported.
However, Stollar's feelings of national duty at the height of the second Palestinian uprising slowly morphed into confusion and distrust once he saw and participated in unsavory military behavior while stationed in the southern West Bank, which he described as “morally corrupting”.
Stollar’s experiences prompted him to join the Israeli NGO ‘Breaking the Silence’, which publishes soldiers' testimonies of Israeli military abuses of power in the Palestinian areas.
However, Breaking the Silence are being silenced by Israeli authorities. In mid-December, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon barred the NGO from giving lectures at army bases. Then, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennet announced he would not allow any activity by the group in Israeli schools.
Israeli authorities’ movement seem to have had an effect on public opinion, a survey published by Israeli Channel 10 showed that 53 percent of Jewish Israelis believe Breaking the Silence should be outlawed.
Many Israelis get outraged by any criticism against their army, saying they or their enlisted loved ones should not be "demonized" as they risk their lives to provide safety for the rest of the public.
Nevertheless, Stollar, now 32, said that his goal as a member of the organization is not to reach audiences abroad, but to stir a critical debate about the consequences of the occupation in Israeli society, and that democratic debate is being stifled.
"Delegitimizing our voice, rather than answering our criticism, is the easiest thing to do", he said.
He and his colleagues receive hundreds of threats each day, but Stollar said that he is "more concerned about our society and democracy than I am about my personal safety".
He stressed that the last three months of renewed violence are "living proof, that unlike what our current administration is saying, the occupation [of the Palestinian territories] is not manageable".
AG/IINA
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