Plan to ban leftist group from IDF events gains support

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's decision to ban members of the left-wing organization Breaking the Silence from participating in IDF events following reports of the group's efforts abroad to assert that IDF soldiers commit war crimes is garnering support among politicians and citizens.

Ya'alon said he has forbidden Breaking the Silence -- which brings together veteran soldiers dedicated to exposing alleged mistreatment of Palestinians by the IDF -- from conducting any activities with the Israeli military because the group "is part of the attempts to delegitimize us."

The decision comes along with a report from right-wing Zionist group Im Tirtzu, which revealed that Breaking the Silence is heavily funded by a Palestinian organization.

Breaking the Silence director Yuli Novak shot back at the allegations, saying that while the group's funds are managed in Ramallah, the money did not come from a Palestinian organization.

"It's a complete lie, a joke," she told Israel Radio. "The funds come from four European countries that are friendly to Israel, that have an ongoing relationship with it -- Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Holland."

In response to Ya'alon's decision, Novak said, "It is proof that we are doing serious work -- not one of the thousands of testimonies we have published over 11 years has been proven false. We will keep doing what we are doing."

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said Monday of Breaking the Silence: "It is a shameful organization that seeks to tie the hands of IDF soldiers, who save our lives."

Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid also welcomed Ya'alon's decision, saying that the group "constantly gnaws at the foundations of the State of Israel's democracy."

A group of bereaved parents wrote a letter to Ya'alon, supporting his decision but adding that there was more to be done. "You have the power to stop their activities," they wrote.

Sara Haetzni-Cohen, who heads the My Israel organization, asked Education Minister Naftali Bennett to stop Breaking the Silence's activities within the state school system.

Meanwhile, Meretz leader MK Zehava Galon said, "Ya'alon has joined the bounty hunt against the soldiers [that belong to] Breaking the Silence. The defense minister is delegitimizing law-abiding soldiers who accepted the duty of service but at the same time are not prepared to lend a hand to wrongdoing."

Adalah -- the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, both of which were also singled out in the Im Tirtzu report, said they did not receive the report and therefore had no response to it.

At the same time, a report from Peace Now on right-wing organizations prompted a response from the Institute for Zionist Strategies saying that it "reports all donations received in Israel and the United States in full accordance with transparency laws."

According to the institute, Peace Now has become "an organization that specializes in snitching on Israelis that have different opinions from it."

Elkin: An embarrassment for Haaretz

Following an incident on Sunday, in which Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat refused to speak beside the Israeli flag during the Haaretz conference, prompting organizers to remove the flag, Immigrant Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin said, "This was an embarrassing incident for both sides -- for Erekat and for Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper that is willing to accept terrorism and dictates from Erekat."

Lapid also commented on the incident, saying, "This is the final loss of any sort of national pride from the extreme Left.

"The time has come to make a clear distinction between extremists and sane people in this country."

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