We call out to the US Jewish community to first read all materials published by Breaking the Silence in the past year, before meeting with Breaking the Silence and Truah representatives.
By AVIRAM ZE’EVIThe offices of the Breaking the Silence organization in Tel Aviv(photo credit: REUTERS)
This week we learned that Breaking the Silence is (once again) expanding its activities around the world … and this time the target is the US Jewish community, via their connections to Truah, an organization claiming to be supported by 1,800 Rabbis dedicated to human rights.Despite the festive announcement in the media, the liaison between Truah and Breaking the Silence is nothing new at all … Up to four years ago Truah served as the North American representative of Rabbis for Human Rights, but differences of opinion led to a split and severing of relations between the two organizations.In Israel there is a long-standing and strong connection between Rabbis for Human Rights and Breaking the Silence and, in fact, together with Ta'ayush, these three organizations oversee all anti-Israeli activities in the Hebron Hills.The distribution of roles between these organizations is as follows:Rabbis for Human Rights is the legal branch, the one to submit claims and petitions against the State of Israel, on behalf of Palestinians living in that area. Rabbis for Human Rights runs a large legal department that employs Arab lawyers who submit these claims. So, it seems, there is a good reason that this organization claims to be “acting justly.”Ta'ayush is the operational branch, responsible for connecting between Palestinian residents and lawyers and, as exposed by an Ad Kan investigation, Ta'ayush is responsible also for “establishing facts on the ground” and provoking IDF soldiers, to create false Palestinian claims.Breaking the Silence is the public relations branch, making sure that everyone in the world knows about the “reality” in the Hebron Hills and Hebron itself, through tours and exhibitions held by ex-IDF Israeli soldiers. Breaking the Silence also runs widespread lobbying activities around the world, to put pressure on Israel to leave Judea and Samaria, focusing their propaganda mainly on the European Union and UN institutions.So, if there is nothing new about the liaison with Truah, what exactly is happening here? Why is Breaking the Silence endeavoring to make their “testimonies” (of which a Hamakor investigation found only 20% to be true) known amongst Jewish communities around the world and are even publishing these in the media? As we see the situation, this is a move to make sure that Breaking the Silence keeps its head above water. Its position in Israel has been greatly eroded, even disintegrating to some extent. All recent investigations and articles have presented the Israeli public with the truth about the organization, which has nothing to do with human rights and most definitely has no concern for morals within the IDF. Reality shows that Breaking the Silence is, at best, not reliable (as exposed in a Hamakor investigation on Israel’s Channel 10) and, at worst, involved in serious espionage against the IDF (as exposed in Ad Kan’s investigation on Channel 2 News).
Without the support of the Israeli public, Breaking the Silence has been forced to turn to audiences that have not yet been exposed to the truth about their organization, audiences who still regard them as “patriotic ex-IDF servicemen” and for this purpose there is nothing better than collaboration with Truah.Why is it important that Breaking the Silence reach out to the US Jewish community in particular? The most reasonable possibility is that Breaking the Silence understands that when they are supported by foreign countries, through the governments or religious organizations and anti-Israel foundations, the connection does not look good. Even the Israeli public has realized this. You cannot talk about loving Israel when most of your funds come from foreign countries who don’t like us that much, and you can’t say that money that you received from BDS-supporting foundations does not affect the organization’s activities and agenda. Therefore Breaking the Silence is looking for support elsewhere, in places that are more “kosher.” The North American Jewish community, and those identifying with Truah in particular, is the perfect audience.We call out to the US Jewish community to first read all materials published by Breaking the Silence in the past year, before meeting with Breaking the Silence and Truah representatives, so that, just like the Israeli public, they will know with whom they are shaking hands.The author is Chairman of Ad Kan.