Wednesday, December 1, 2004
Honest Reporting has the final word on the horrible human rights abuse perpetrated by Israeli stormtroopers.
Oh, the humanity! 
You can bear witness to this atrocity by viewing the video here. (You may need to choose a location, then click again to view the video.) WITNESS! ...a man play his violin. SEE! ...a guy thumb through his paperwork. BOGGLE! ...as another soldier chats on his cell-phone. MARVEL! ...at no one take much notice of this oozing horror.
And, as it turns out, the soldiers merely asked the man to open the case. He began playing on his own, and when they were done checking him out they told him to stop. According to IMRA:
"Mahsom Watch" confirm soldiers' version of the event.
This morning, November 30, 2004, an investigation was conducted by the head of the central command, Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinski, regarding the documented incident at the Beit Iba checkpoint, in which a Palestinian man is shown playing a violin. The investigation found that the Palestinian arrived at the checkpoint and was asked by the soldiers to open the violin case. The Palestinian opened the case and started to play the violin of his own volition. Several moments later, the Palestinian was asked by the Liaison officer to stop playing.
The investigation was based on testimony of the soldiers who were at the checkpoint at the time of the incident, footage filmed by the women of "Mahsom Watch" and a letter written by the women of "Mahsom Watch" which supports the soldiers' testimony, pointing out that the Palestinians was not asked to play the violin.
The Liaison officer who checked the Palestinian has been performing his duties professionally over a long period of time. His commanding officers and the Palestinians with whom he works have often praised his work.
The investigation was conducted a week after the incident occurred, since the IDF wished to conduct a thorough investigation which would include all relevant testimony.
The GOC Central Command accepted the findings of the investigation conducted by the brigade, which notes that the incident appears to show lack of sensitivity, but in fact there was no intention to dishonor or disrespect the Palestinian.
IDF activity at checkpoints is complex and difficult, and it poses numerous dilemmas for all personnel involved. The checkpoints are a necessity for security, and are designed to prevent terrorists, weapons and ammunition from entering Israel. The checkpoints have been proven effective on numerous occasions, especially the ones around Nablus...
As Honest Reporting notes (in its item on the work of Washington Post reporter, Molly Moore) :
I recommend watching the video and watching the buffoon of a "Human Rights" activist issue the boiler-plate condemnation of the event in reaction to the video. Tempest, meet tea pot. Of course, what this does is make it even less likely that, were there a real abuse at a checkpoint, it would be taken seriously.
Update: Don't miss this post at LGF.
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Fiddling Past the Checkpoint.
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When I heard that a palestinian violinist was forced to play his violin at a military checkpoint, I felt sick. After seeing the video, and reading the stories at Honest Reporting and IMRA, I'm no longer sick.... just disgusted at... Read More
As reported in Solomonia: Fiddling Past the Checkpoint Honest Reporting has the final word on the horrible human rights abuse perpetrated by Israeli stormtroopers. Read More
When I heard that a palestinian violinist was forced to play his violin at a military checkpoint, I felt sick. After seeing the video, and reading the stories at Honest Reporting and IMRA, I'm no longer sick.... just disgusted at... Read More
And how does one hear about the CORRECTION to this story? I didn't catch it on the BBC this morning, but they sure covered the heck out of the original story...