Jerusalem – Israeli soldiers wore T-shirts with a pregnant woman in cross-hairs and the slogan “1 Shot 2 Kills,” adding to a growing furor in the country over allegations of misconduct by troops during the Gaza war.
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“The smaller they are, the harder it is,” says another shirt showing a child in a rifle sight. Soldiers wore the shirts to mark the end of basic training and other military courses and they were first reported by the Haaretz daily.
The military condemned the soldiers involved, but it was not immediately clear how many wore the shirts. They were not manufactured or sanctioned by the military and appear not to have been widely distributed.
The shirts “are not in accordance with IDF values and are simply tasteless,” the military said in a statement. “This type of humor is unbecoming and should be condemned.” The army said it would not tolerate such behavior and would take disciplinary action against the soldiers involved.
Haaretz showed pictures of five shirts and said they were made at the unit level – indicating that they were made for small numbers of troops, perhaps several dozen, at a time. It said they were worn by an unknown number of enlisted men in different units. The Tel Aviv factory that made many of the shirts, Adiv, refused to comment.
Some of the shirts had blatant sexual messages. One battalion had a shirt made of a soldier standing next to a young woman with bruises, with the slogan, “Bet you got raped!” according to Haaretz.
Others featured the phrase “Confirming the kill,” a reference to the shooting an enemy in the head from close range to ensure he is dead, a practice that the IDF denies.
Israel’s military has come under increasing scrutiny after unidentified soldiers alleged that some troops opened fire hastily and killed Palestinian civilians during the Gaza war several months ago, including children, possibly because they believed they would not be held accountable under relaxed open-fire regulations. The military has ordered a criminal inquiry into soldiers accounts published in a military institute’s newsletter.
On Monday, the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, defended his troops.
“I tell you that this is a moral and ideological army. I have no doubt that exceptional events will be dealt with,” Ashkenazi told new recruits. Gaza “is a complex atmosphere that includes civilians, and we took every measure possible to reduce harm to the innocent.”
Palestinians too have glorified attacks on Israelis in the past. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas-controlled media consistently send messages that Jews cannot be trusted and that Israel is a bloodthirsty, militaristic state eager to seize Palestinian land and slaughter Palestinian children.
The three-week Gaza offensive, launched to end years of rocket fire at Israeli towns, ended on Jan. 18. According to Palestinian officials, around 1,400 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis died, three of them civilians
Sick
Many of you may show indignation, but how many of you agree on the inside?!
sick. this is no different than the arab mickey mouse
sick but can you blame the soldiers 9referring to th epAlestinian issue). they are the target when the table turns you can only expect the rage.
I understand the feelings of anger, but things like this only serve to undermine Israel’s position.
Although it comes from cbs, so I do take the story with a grain of salt.
1 shot 2 kills – who said the woman on the shirt is pregnant, she could have a bomb!
“confirming the kill” shouldn’t be a discouraged practice- but rather mandatory!
Anyways, these are just shirts, the palestinians want to do these things in actuality
-starting with the recent terror attack at a Haifa mall.
It is the Arab way to talk like that not a Yiddish way.
who cares if they make a t-shirt against the jews or we make a t-shirt against them its a stupid t-shirt
Im sick of the double standard. Why are we held “accountable” and the terrists are not? They can shoot women and children with no accountibility.
Dont answer that we are on a higher standard. No one looks at us that way.
Whatever you may feel about the situation, this is not right.
The t-shirts are in bad taste and offensive, but is it a war crime?
As Yidden we have an obligation to defend ourselves. But halacha does not take the subject lightly and neither should we. Making jokes about the death of anyone is disgusting. If these shirts were being sold in NY with some joke about Jews and ovens the same sickos who this this is funny would be looking to burn down any establishment that sold them.
#5 – You said “Dont answer that we are on a higher standard. No one looks at us that way.” BOLONEY! We look at ourselves that way, secular yidden (in the US) look at us that way. The only people who would find this funny would be toothless, hillbilly, Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh fans whose greatest aspirations in life are to kill Muslims (or Jews, or Blacks, or Hispanics… its all the same to them) and one day be able to use indoor plumbing without having to go to Walmart.
When did we lose all respect for human life? Any soldier who finds it easy to take anyone’s life or who would be so cavalier about it shouldn’t be a soldier.
I know someone will say I’m just a tree-hugging liberal or something, but I’m not. I fully expect us to obliterate anyone who attacks us. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, or proud of it, or willing to joke about it, or that I wish it to be so.
chill winston, these are 18 year old guys thrown into the army not thinking too much about what there doing having a bit of fun, where were you at 18? sitting at mommy and daddies, wondering which shirt to wear for school
arabs would wear these without a thought in the world,.. their “kafiya”s say this same message without words, hey wait… they probably don’t know how to spell anyway
This is sick, and not the way we should ever encourage.
That is horrible. It’s also referencing a famous internet meme which I won’t post here, but suffice to say that there is another joke within a joke here. That does not make it any more ok though, this is really not funny in the slightest. Look, I get that Muslims wearing shirts like this would probably not get any attention, and I am as pissed off as the next guy when the Jews and Israelis get hammered and judged as “war criminals” while no one says a word as the other side murders us AND their own (all over the world, not just the ME), but this is completely wrong.
when jews r killed the arabs make parties and give out candies so when we kill arabs we give out these tshirts no problem I have I think we would hold our selves higher then the arab dirt that steal jewish land
Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Lazeh… this story is a shame upon all of us as Yidden.
Nothing like a PC army. Next thing know you commando will have write apology letters to the families of terorists that were shooting at them, for killing them. While it may be in poor taste, any attempt to stifle it is erosion of the free speech guaranteed in democratic lands. i don’t know how many people have seen the army T shirts for sale in America, but they’re not much better. Join the army, travel the world, meet interesting people…. and kill them.
or
Gives us your hearts and your minds or else we’ll burn you and your grass huts. A PC army, is a very bad idea.
there are more comments and outrage on this post than there is on the post about the potential haifa terrorist attacks. you guys are sick in the head
I am ashamed to be a member of a people who would think this is okay.
Evil does NOT jusify Evil.
I don’t give a hoot what horrific things arabs or palestinians did to us. Those all were dispicable acts and wrong.
But that does not justify our stooping to their level.
This makes is look as if we are no better than their worst.
To wear a shirt with this message, or to think or believe it, means we have lost our humanity.
And, NO, I am not some bleeding heart Liberal. I believe in defending ourselves, and I would even believe in preemptive strikes under certain conditions. I do not cry from civilian casualties in the context of war, and when THEY use children and women to shield them, they are the ones killing them.
But for one of our own to shoot a pregnant woman in the gut, with the thought of kiilling two?!?!
That is murder, not war.
That is viscious murder, not self-defence.
That is a “War Crime” as bad as any of theirs.
I am ashamed to be a member of a people who would think this is okay.
Whats wrong with you people? Do you want another terrorist to come and try to destroy us all? another Merkaz Harav CV”Sh? another 9/11 CV”Sh? We should have finished them all off in Gaza.
Killing is a necessary part of war, but there is no reason to celebrate or make fun of it.
T-shirts like these are evidence of damage to our own neshamas.
Do not confuse condemnations of this behavior on our part with condoning the actions of the other side; they are two separate issues.