Israeli troops punished for dancing with Hamas
The Associated Press reports that the Israeli military is planning on punishing some of their soldiers who were filmed dancing at a Palestinian wedding in Hebron while they were supposed to be on patrol in the town;
The soldiers were making the rounds in the city of Hebron when they entered a dance hall and joined dozens of Palestinian men dancing to the hit “Gangnam Style.” The Israeli military said Thursday it considers the incident “serious,” adding “the soldiers exposed themselves to unnecessary danger and were disciplined accordingly,” without elaborating.
Footage aired on Israeli Channel 2 TV shows the solders in uniform, flak jackets and carrying guns. One was shown hoisted on the shoulders of Palestinian dancers. Other soldiers joined hands and grooved with the partygoers.
So here’s the news report;
According to the news report, some of the Palestinians on the dance floor were identified as members of Hamas.
Category: Who knows
But, everyone was having such a good time! So much for winning hearts and minds.
Israel has done a good job of taking the moral high road while being attacked by hamas, but to punish their soldiers for dancing with palestinians gives the clear picture that the military is opposed to the idea of living in peace with their neighbors, something they have claimed and showed for many years. bad move punishing these guys.
MAJ Mike beat me to it. Hearts and Minds!
A few weeks ago, Israeli High Command also punished a bunch of female IDF draftees for posing with their assault rifles in their undies and putting the photos on the ‘net. Darn, what party-poopers…
But they were just having some fun! And nobody was drunk or stoned! What could be wrong with that????
@2 Well put, Smitty, I thought the exact same thing. My first reaction was, there’s no way they’ll show that on the lame-stream media because it shows that the Israelis aren’t bloodthirsty animals committing war crimes.
It’s really a shame these warriors are going to be punished, but I can see that it was a case of deviating from their duties; though no one in the media will see it as such if they even report on it in the first place.
If these Soldiers r=were reprimanded at the company level, it should just stop there. I think this was a useful “soft power” moment that can be far more beneficial than displays of “hard power” in certain situations.
Sounds to me like the patrol leader used poor judgement and went way too far, disregarding the security of his unit in the process. I believe could – and should – have accomplished outreach while still maintaining security.
I can see both sides here. Outreach is good – but crowded street celebrations can turn violent in a heartbeat if the wrong element is present. And the last thing the IDF wants is another situation where one or more of their troops is taken hostage.
Palestinian 1: Mohammed I hate those Israeli pigs, wait there they are now.
Palestinian 2: Should we attack?
IDF 1: Shit guys look at all these guys I bet half of them are terrorists.
IDF 2-4: *Glaring around*
Sound System: Oppa Gangam Style…..
Everyone: Disco, Disco, Good, Good…
I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like he handed over his weapon to a Palestinian and said “hold this while I dance”
Hondo, there very well could have been security that we didn’t see on camera. I find it hard to believe with all the trouble the IDF has to deal with that they wouldn’t have security.
This is tough…it’s a great moment of interaction, but discipline is important to troop safety and unit cohesion so I get it.
Had these men been killed during this interaction and their bodies paraded through the streets with hamas calling it a victory over their Jewish oppressors our conversations would be centered around why were these guys dancing with their enemies.
That the outcome was positive doesn’t change the nature of the enemy, nor does it change the nature of the mission and unit security. I think everyone serving has seen one these moments where something could have gone to sh1t and didn’t and counted ourselves lucky for knowing we f#cked up and are still somehow okay.
Twist: agreed. And where I am at present, I can’t watch the vid, so I’m speaking kinda blind here.
Still: letting a guy get hoisted on shoulders and be carried around seems a bit much – even if he still has his assigned weapon and ammo. If nothing else, the chance for someone knifing him in the crowd (body armor has some gaps) seems not worth the risk.
As I said: I can see both sides. Obviously Israeli policy says they err on the side of preventing an IDF member being taken hostage.
They were the feature dancers on Kickin’ It Kosher, performing that crowd fav, the Shalom Boogie. Hey, how many clubs in a few US cities erupted in gunfire that same night?
I guess I’ll be contrary. I think, depending on how severely they’re to be punished, this is the thing to do. I was all set to be outraged until I read the opening paragraph.
soldiers who were filmed dancing at a Palestinian wedding in Hebron while they were supposed to be on patrol in the town;
If they were dancing when they were supposed to be working, then they do deserve to be punished. If they were just chilling with the locals on their time off, as long as they were prudent about the security of their weapons and persons, then punishing them is exactly the wrong tact to take.
This reminds me of times in the Civil War when both sides would be on opposite sides of the “creek”.
When in “down time”, they would send out trading boats. Coffee for Tobacco, etc.
Swim together, eat together and then back to camp.
Next day. Fix bayonets and kill each other.
Nik, @15, has it right. These youngsters were on PATROL. Think of a cop on the beat. Is it okay for him to stop into a disco and ignore his duties for a few minutes. Similar here, only with potentially even more severe consequences. These guys thought because they’re doing an urban patrol, they could relax. They were wrong in every way. It was a dereliction of duty. It was poor SA that could have gotten them killed. It was unprofessional. They were there as SOLDIERS, not simple citizens.
I recognize the upside that at least they show we Israelis aren’t bloodthirsty, etc. – but wrong time, wrong place. A combat soldier should know this. Demotion and discipline for everyone from platoon or company commander on down in my opinion.
This stuff worries me. There have been a few incidents like this with this generation. We sure as hell did NOT make those kinds of mistakes.
flashbacks to the Zohan and the ultra hot black haired chick
This is the “hot-shit” IDF everyone talks about?
n @16:
Yup. During the civil war there were many, many documented unofficial truces, especially on the piquet lines and skirmish lines.
Troops knew where each side and each post was. It was fairly easy to hear them, because there was virtually NO ambient noise back then. No background light, either.
One fellow might call out “Hey Yank! We won’t shoot if you won’t!” and both sides could rest easy for a few hours.
Trade was also VERY common. Like you said, coffee for tobacco, plus newspapers, pocket knives, even buttons, etc.
@20 and 16 – don’t forget the famous Silent Night/Stelle Nacht Christmas Eve truce in WWI.
Pretty much always the case among professional warfighters that they have more in commmon with their enemies than they do with their political leaders. I always swore the whole Cold War deal could have been over in a week given a very very large German beer tent that stocked vodka too. Doubt the politicians would have liked it though.
God help them if it had been the harlem shake
Is it me, the horrible video quality, or do these soldiers have a HORRIBLE trigger discipline? Dancing around on somebodies shoulders, holding the weapon one-handed with the finger on the trigger. No, I don’t want to be anywhere near that.
They were punished for the risk that they brought upon themselves in doing this. They were NOT punished because they “made nice” with the Ass Lifters. I have read Israeli press accounts, both their liberal and their conservative takes on this and they risked not only their own safety, but could well have had their weaponry, radios, etc taken by “THE ENEMY”. Unlike our leadership and populace at large; if one Israeli soldier is captured, it becomes a major national issue, (i.e. Gilad Shalit), and could cost Israel by having to trade hundreds, even a thousand prisoners for the recovery. Our standards and theirs are not even near comparable. Hell, our government won’t even barter the return of our one GI prisoner while releasing known terrorists from our confinement.