Breaking the Silence in Hebron

Breaking the Silence: IDF Soldiers speak out about the Occupation

Last week I met one of the co-founders of Breaking the Silence who took us on a tour of Hebron where he once served in the IDF. This is a 'must see' tour for every pilgrimage group along with an ICAHD tour of the apartheid wall and house demolitions.

Breaking The Silence (BtS) (Hebrew: שוברים שתיקה‎ Shovrim Shtika) is an Israeli Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) established by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and veterans who collect and provide testimonies about their military service in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, giving serving and discharged Israeli personnel and reservists a platform to confidentially describe their experience in the Israeli-occupied territories.

The organization's stated mission is to 'break the silence' of IDF soldiers who return to civilian life in Israel and "discover the gap between the reality which they encountered in the [occupied] territories, and the silence which they encounter at home." Since 2004, Breaking the Silence have run a testimonies collection project called "Soldiers Speak Out" They have collected several hundred testimonies from "those who have, during their service in the IDF, the Border Guard, and the Security Forces, played a role in the Occupied Territories." By publishing soldiers' accounts, Breaking the Silence hopes to "force Israeli society to address the reality which it created" and face the truth about "abuse towards Palestinians, looting, and destruction of property" that is familiar to soldiers.

shovrimshtika.org/​index_e.asp