Breaking the Silence opens exhibition at European Parliament in Brussels
The photo exhibition marks 25 years since Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
By ILANIT CHERNICKNadav Weiman, Deputy Director of Breaking the Silence, at a photo exhibit at the European Parliament.(photo credit: ILANIT CHERNICK)
BRUSSELS - Controversial Israeli non-governmental organization, Breaking the Silence has opened a three-day photography exhibition at the European Parliament in Brussels, allegedly revealing the violence and discrimination, which IDF soldiers have had to carry out in Hebron and other parts of the “occupied territories in the West Bank.”Photographs showing IDF soldiers and Palestinians interacting, some in which Palestinians were blindfolded, and others in which IDF soldiers were mapping out homes of Palestinians and right-wing racist slurs in Hebron were just some of the items on display.During the opening of the exhibition on Tuesday afternoon, deputy director of the organization Nadav Weiman said that he had joined the organization to "defend my country...and to bring an end to the occupation to ensure that Israel exists as it’s meant to be and to ensure that Palestinians and Israelis lead a life that they all deserve.”He added that this was “a glimpse into the low intensity conflict” that soldiers are facing.He said that soldiers have had to “shut up” and “build walls around us, remaining silent to our families, friends, boyfriends and girlfriends.”He said that with time, IDF soldiers serving in these areas “have become occupied with asserting military occupation over Palestinians,” and that this photo exhibition shows “true side of the occupation,” adding that the “occupation is bleeding into Israel.”Marking 25 years since the Baruch Goldstein massacre at the Cave of the Patriarchs in which 29 Palestinian worshipers were killed, Weiman said the exhibition was even more relevant following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent deal with the far-Right Otzma Yehudit, which is viewed by many as an offshoot of Kahane’s Kach party.“They [the IDF] are protecting 800 people living in Hebron,” most of whom he claimed are Kahanists, and that is why the IDF is occupying Hebron.Weiman added that it is okay to “question and criticize” because that shows that Israel is a true democracy.He concluded that they would not be silenced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his campaigns to silence them. “It’s not enough that they trying to silence the Palestinians but they are also trying to silence my voice and that of my colleagues.“Silence will not prevail,” he said.Following the event Breaking the Silence spokesman Dean Issacharoff told The Jerusalem Post that their main goal “is to expose the reality of the occupation and to show people what we did as soldiers and were sent to do in the occupied territories.“We are reminding people of the Baruch Goldstein massacre...and we are reminding people that 25 years later Bibi [Benjamin] Netanyahu is paving the way for Goldsteins friends to come back into the Israeli parliament and that is a direct cost of the occupation on both Palestinian and Israeli society.”Breaking the Silence was hosted by EU Parliament Member Javi Lopez
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