Larry Derfner: The last bastion of colonialism

In the democratic world, Israel’s armed domination of the Palestinians is unique. It didn’t used to be, but now it is one-of-a-kind.
In the democratic world, Israel’s armed domination of the Palestinians is unique. It didn’t used to be, but now it is one-of-a-kind. This country’s occupation of Palestinian territory is the last bastion of colonialism in the free world.

People forget that. Which is why we need human rights reports like “Israeli Soldier Testimonies, 2000-2010” from Breaking the Silence and “Separate and Unequal” from Human Rights Watch – to force people to remember the simple, awful truth.

READING THROUGH the 431-page book of soldiers’ stories and the 166- page report about the mechanics of Israeli colonialism, you get a sense of how utterly we have become the Palestinians’ masters over the last 43 years.
The bullying and brutalizing of civilians is accepted as routine by young soldiers on occupation duty – even now, after the intifada has been extinguished, when Palestinian Authority police in the West Bank work with Israel to fight violence, terrorism and Hamas.

“There was a lot of joy at others’ misfortune, people even told about it happily,” said a soldier describing the “fanatical atmosphere” at a 2009 night raid on a village near Nablus. The soldiers “break the floors, turn over sofas, throw plants and pictures, turn over beds, break closets, tiles...”

The residents “are dying of fear, girls pee in their pants... [Soldiers] yelled at old people, one of them had an epileptic seizure... he doesn’t speak Hebrew and they continue to yell at him.”
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