Thank you for your donation to Breaking the Silence
Amount:
25
50
100

250
500
1,000
or enter an amount:
ILS
EUR
USD
GBP

Pay with Paypal / Credit Card
One time
Monthly
Checks

Checks should be made out to “Breaking the Silence” and sent to:

POB 51027
6713206 Tel Aviv

Money transfer

“Breaking the Silence”
Account number 340211, Branch 567 at Hapoalim Bank

SWIFT: POALILIT

IBAN:
IL310125670000000340211

Tax Deductible

US tax deductible donations can be made through the website of the New Israel Fund.

For tax deductible donations from Europe please contact info@breakingthesilence.org.il

For more information

info@breakingthesilence.org.il

Sign-up for our newsletter
submit
Read our past newsletters
menu
Newsletter Twitter Facebook Instagram Spotify YouTube
Advanced Search
Categories Ranks Units Areas Periods
401st Brigade Mechanised Infantry5th Brigade (Reserves)7th Brigade Mechanised InfantryAir ForceAlexandroni Reserve BrigadeantiaircraftArmored CorpsArmored Corps 7, 75 battalionArmored Corps 8, 455 battalion (Reserves)Armored Corps reconnaissance Unit, 401st BrigadeArmored Corps reconnaissance Unit, 7th BrigadeArmored Corps, 188 BrigadeArmored Corps, 401 BrigadeArmored Corps, 500 BrigadeArmored Corps, 7 BrigadeArtilery 9305Artillery CorpsArtillery Corps - Miniature UAV unitArtillery Corps - Target AcquisitionArtillery Corps, 402 BattalionArtillery Corps, 404 BattalionArtillery corps, 405 BattalionArtillery Corps, 411 BattalionArtillery Corps, 55 BattalionArtillery Corps, Meitar UnitArtillery Corps, Moran UnitArtillery MLRSBinyamin Regional BrigadeBorder PoliceCaracal battalionCheckpoint M.PChemical Warfare BattalionCivilian PoliceCOGATCombat intelligenceDuchifat BattalionDuvdevan UnitEducation CorpsEfraim BrigadeEgoz Reconnaissance UnitEngineering CorpsEngineering, 601 BattalionEngineering, 603 BattalionEngineering, 605 BattalionErez BattalionEtzion Regional CommandGaza RegimentGivati - Rotem BattalionGivati - Shaked BattalionGivati BrigadeGivati Engineering UnitGivati Reconnaissance PlatoonGolani BrigadeGolani Reconnaissance PlatoonGolani, 12 BattalionGolani, 13 BattalionHaruv BattalionIDF SpokespersonInfantryInfantry Commanders AcademyIntelligenceJordan Valley Regional BrigadeJudea and Samaria RegimentJudea Regional BrigadeKarakal BattalionKfir BrigadeKherev BattalionLavi Battalionlook-outMaglan ReconnaissanceMechanized InfantryMilitary CourtMilitary PoliceNachal engineering UnitNachal Special ForcesNachshon BattalionNahal Anti Tank UnitNahal BrigadeNahal HarediNahal Reconnaissance PlatoonNahal, 50th BattalionNahal, 931st BattalionNahal, 932nd BattalionNaval Special ForcesNavyOketz Canine unitOtherParatroopersParatroopers Anti Tank UnitParatroopers engineering UnitParatroopers Reconnaissance BattalionParatroopers Reconnaissance PlatoonParatroopers, 101st BattalionParatroopers, 202nd BattalionParatroopers, 890th BattalionReserve Batallion 5033ReservesReserves - 7490 BattalionReserves - Civilian CorpsReserves - Jerusalem BrigadeReserves - Mechanized Infantry 8104 battalionSachlav UnitSamaria Regional BrigadeSamur - Special Engineering UnitSearch and Rescue Brigade (Homefront Command)Shaldag Reconnaissance UnitShimshon BattalionSouthern CommandSouthern Gaza Regional BrigadeThe Civil AdministrationYael ReconnaissanceYahalom - Special Engineering Unityamas
Free text search
Categories
Ranks
Units
Areas
Periods
Text testimonies Come back with four bottles of Coke, and then we’ll let you through
catalog number: 736619
Rank: First Sergeant
Unit: Oketz Canine unit
period: 2007 - 2009
categories:
123  views    0  comments
Come back with four bottles of Coke, and then we’ll let you through
Rank: First Sergeant
Unit: Oketz Canine unit
period: 2007 - 2009

Did you witness looting? At the checkpoints, all the time. At some point, Shimshon battalion decided that it would be better, instead of looting cars, just to tell the driver to go back to the village: “Come back with four bottles of Coke, and then we’ll let you through”.

They would say that directly? Yes. It wasn’t looting, it was on a different level.

Were there other things as well? From car, soldiers love to take the (drivers’) prayer beads. When I searched cars, I would always ask the people to take their Quran, their mobile phone and their cigarettes out with them – because cigarettes are another thing that soldiers love to take.

Did you ever see soldiers taking cigarettes? If I saw with it my own eyes, it would be returned that minute. Because people don’t want to get into trouble. Officers can look the other way, but not when someone comes to them and says that a soldier has taken cigarettes. And because I have nothing to do with them, there’s no reason for me not to do it. It was like: “Either you put that back or I’ll tell your commanding officer…” But in the end, someone always takes something. In operational activity, too, I didn’t see it myself, but there were two soldiers who took money out of homes.

How do you know? They talked about it with their friends at the army post. Or, more than once, I was there when a company commander or platoon commander – the rank doesn’t matter – would gather everyone together and tell them that the family was claiming, “You took money. I want to believe that none of you did such a thing” and that closed the subject.

That’s all? Because he ‘wanted to believe’? That’s a good enough reason… So yes, it happens all the time.

And vandalism? Define vandalism. If I want to hide a sniffer (a case filled with explosives used for training army dogs) and I take – by the way, we’re amazing car mechanics, because we know how to take a whole car apart – there’s that plastic part of the door, and if you take out the inner part, there’s that metal hole, so you put the sniffer inside, it’s a great place to hide it because there’s a pretty large space. You close it with that ugly upholstery. I did that and left it open, is that considered vandalism? And if I tore it, is that vandalism? If it is, then I’ve seen vandalism. I didn’t do it myself, but soldiers vandalize property all the time.

Were you ever present at searches where something got broken? Sure. First of all, a dog can be a very clumsy animal. So say you’ve got shelves loaded with porcelain dishes. The dog has to search the whole house. You can order it to sit, wait, or go and look. Some girls will have the dog jump and it might break the porcelain.

What gets broken? Everything. You say “oops”, push it aside so that the dog won’t get hurt accidentally, and continue. You rip up a mattress in order to hide something for the dog, and turn it over.