Let's break down the testimonies of Breaking the Silence, an organization that publicizes statements of alleged IDF misdeeds, and get to what lies underneath them. In recent years, as part of my job, I've been researching the issue of how stories are framed and how facts are presented. I got my start while studying foreign news agencies and the way they report the news about Israel. I discovered an entire world of media manipulation, leading to sentiment- and opinion-based reporting, without any adherence to the facts. You don't need to lie to influence public opinion; presenting a story in a given way while stressing certain details that dovetail with your interests will do the job. Take this headline, which recently appeared in the foreign media: "Israelis kill four Palestinians following knife attacks." What is particularly disturbing about this biased headline is the fact that there is no lie -- Israelis did in fact kill the terrorists (to neutralize the immediate threat they were posing.) The detachment from context, the way the incidents are represented, and the choice of words are what affect how the incident is perceived. We all know that the Palestinians who were killed were the knife-wielding terrorists, but the reader abroad isn't aware of what is happening and gets the sense that the Israelis are the criminals. In one particular Breaking the Silence testimony, a soldier describes an arrest he and his team made, saying they used the Palestinian detainee as a human shield. After the testimony was made public, the team commander explained that the prisoner had indeed been positioned in front of the soldiers, but he (the commander) had gone first, ahead of the prisoner, as regulations require. I served in a similar team and I gave and carried out the same missions and orders. Another anonymous testimony published on the Breaking the Silence website, about an operation in Hebron in which a Palestinian was shot, offers a glimpse into how stories are framed and the reliability of the testimony. The soldier providing the testimony states that he and his comrades shot live ammunition at protesters during riots in Hebron. "The Palestinians destroyed a lot of stuff, there were Molotov cocktails, and then ... the battalion commander came on the radio: 'If you see any Palestinians appearing to be going overboard, you have a green light to do whatever you think is best.' I don't remember exactly what the situation was, that's what the commander explained to us, and then we shot a few knees and that's how it ended," the soldier said. The head of the Israel desk at the TPS news agency, who served in the area and was at the incident, confirmed that live ammunition was used, but supplied additional information. "I remember that my forces used up all our riot-dispersal means, we had been involved in the incident for hours, and had been feeling that our lives were at risk for several minutes," he said. "We were getting hit with rocks and Molotov cocktails from every direction and hadn't gotten permission to open fire. About 15 minutes later, a terrorist threw a boulder down on me from the roof of the building I was directly below. By some miracle, he missed my head and 'only' hit my knee
an injury I still suffer from today. After that, the rifle company that was 70 meters [230 feet] away from us was given permission to aim and fire at the terrorist, who was standing on the roof alone, throwing another boulder, and hit him." So the forces received permission to open fire only after two Israeli soldiers had been wounded. When you understand the situation, you realize that the story is a little different than what was presented. Leaving out details and holding back vital information takes things out of context. This is what happens with a lot of the Breaking the Silence testimonies and reports by foreign news agencies. When you understand how things are framed, you understand the agenda. The world is hungry for information, and they are supplying it. Even if they aren't lying outright, they are twisting the truth, without batting an eyelid. Amotz Eyal is the founder of the Israeli news agency TPS.
