The Biden administration is expected to impose sanctions on the Israeli Defense Force’s Netzach Yehuda battalion, accusing it of human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Axios. This unprecedented action marks the first time the U.S. has sanctioned an IDF unit.
The Netzach Yehuda battalion has been embroiled in controversy since the 2022 incident involving the death of Omar As’ad. As’ad, a 78-year-old Palestinian-American, died after being detained by members of the battalion.
Despite relocating the battalion from the West Bank to northern Israel in December 2022, Israeli officials deny that the move was a response to misconduct.
The U.S. decision has prompted sharp criticism from Israeli leaders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his disapproval on X, emphasizing his efforts to prevent sanctions against Israeli nationals and criticizing the timing of the sanctions as Israeli soldiers confront threats. He described the sanctions as “a moral low” and vowed to oppose them.
“The IDF must not be sanctioned!” he wrote on X. “I’ve been working in recent weeks against the sanctioning of Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with the American administration.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz also criticized the move, stating that the Netzach Yehuda battalion adheres to military and international laws and is essential to the IDF. He argued that the sanctions set a dangerous precedent and undermine the partnership between Israel and the U.S., promising to take steps to block the sanctions.
The decision to target Netzach Yehuda was reportedly based on incidents that occurred prior to October 7, as part of an investigation that also reviewed other military and police units. While other units were not sanctioned, it was noted that they had made necessary adjustments in their conduct, according to an administration official.
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7 Responses
At least they will.
The biggest abomination to Judaism.
A real life scenario of what serving the avodah zara called molech is like.
As the navi said, ad matai atem poschim al shnei tzeifim…..
That is what happens when you have a bunch of Off the Derech bums and shababniks (IYKYK) who are frustrated with the system and resentful against frum society at large, give them control over an army unit and let them do whatever they want.
I once saw a protest in EY. An old yerushalmi guy sitting on the floor and a cop with chasidish peyos behind the ears, beating the old man with a smile on his face. Again, never put a bum in a position of authority/violence over someone else. It ends up badly just like by this arab guy.
@pure nareshkeit and @Yanky1998 – many of the guys who end up in Netzach are ones who have been beaten down by the Chareidi Yeshiva system and made to feel like failures since they were not cut out to sit full-time in Yeshiva. They were, in fact, therefore “sacrificed” to the IDF so as to relieve pressure on Chareidi society by enabling them to say “You see – we do send Chareidim to the army”.
Considering where these guys are coming from, the fact that the majority of them come out as responsible human beings – though unfortunately, sometimes not Frum – is a credit to the army. If you start with high-quality input, it’s easy to end with high-quality output – but when you’re starting with people who have been deemed “failures” by the Chareidi society they grew up in, yet still have a decent number that come out and are functional in life, that’s a credit to the ones who finally put the effort into developing them.
There have been incidents where things were done that should not have been – and as a result, people’s careers in the army were significantly damaged or completely derailed, as they should be. The current State Department proposed sanctions, though, are ridiculous – such sanctions are intended for situations where units act with impunity, not where units are held to account for their actions by their own command structure/government. This is pure pandering to the pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic party.
an Israeli Yid
I applaud the move to sanction them. Why do innocent people (Jews or Arabs) have to suffer because we need a rehab camp.
Why are these yeshiva dropouts and misfits behaving like a bunch of gangsters. At least in America OTD kids try to make something out of their lives, get a degree and get a job.
Sure we need a solution but to give them their own army unit makes no sense at all, I wouldn’t want to put anyone (including Arabs) at the mercy of frustrated OTD kids who are filled with anger and hate. It’s cruel.
Anyone defending them should realize how messed up the situation is. Imagine taking a bunch of Lakewood Westgate rebels and having them guard an old Arab prisoner. They tortured the guy! These guys should be in jail for most of their lives
Yanky, they are all tzadikim and you have no right to criticize them. You are a rasha for speaking like this about them.
Remember what I said, Yanky1998 and Miriam are probably the same person. At first I thought it may be a goy infiltrator, but he or she is purposefully slipping a lot of inside knowledge about our community. So at this point I believe he is an off the derech person who became a neoliberal and is trying to do what they call “effective altruism” by representing and normalizing these viewpoints among us. He is being deceptive by presenting himself and these ideas as authentically Jewish, which of course they are not. Even Neturei Karta are nowhere near this.
Yankee1998
Repent, you are being Motzei Shem Ra in front of the whole world on good kids!!!!
You lost your Ne’emonos, we don’t believe your made up story!!!
The liberals are EVIL!!! And ANTI JEWS!!!!
Find me another nation that was sanctioned for one death? It’s even pathetic to answer to you dumb disgusting 🤮 post. Besides that you give fuel to the enemies of the Jewish people
Shame on you! And shame on the editors who allowed you to post such garbage