Palestinian prisoner abuse is not an aberration, say human rights activist

Israeli soldiers who abuse Palestinian prisoners and those who support this are also abusing Jewish values and threatening Israel with internal collapse, a leading Israeli progressive activist told The Jewish Independent.

Avi Dabush, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, who visited Australia in April on a speaking tour, said it would be a mistake to understand prisoner abuse as merely the work of aberrant soldiers.

“It’s not individuals only. The question is the norms, the supervision and the ability to set boundaries and punish someone who doesn’t act accordingly,” he said.

“Every society has violent people and people who want to use violence. The question is leadership and in our leadership there are many who encourage this.”

Prisoner abuse, which according to rights groups has been carried out persistently since the start of the war, came to the fore this week after coalition ministers and legislators joined far-right protesters who broke into the Sde Teiman facility in a bid to prevent military police from arresting soldiers suspected in a sexual assault that severely wounded a Palestinian detainee.

“Even if we judge these soldiers, it won’t solve the problem without leaders and a system making clear that this is simply unacceptable,” said Dabush, a member of Kibbutz Nirim near the Gaza border. Dabush survived the October 7 Hamas assault in the area by clutching the door handle of the saferoom where he and his family hid while Hamas fighters killed and kidnapped friends and neighbours.