The IDF claimed Yonathan Shapira and Matan Cohen "attacked" a soldier. It is a blatant lie discredited by video evidence.
On July 2, at the weekly demonstration in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, Israeli army troops violently arrested Israeli activists Yonatan Shapira and Matan Cohen. I witnessed the incident that led to the arrests and filmed them as they took place. As a group of soldiers pursued children up a small hill, then began firing teargas shells and percussion grenades at them, presumably in response to a few stones the children had thrown, Cohen and Shapira mocked the soldiers. “Shooting at children! You are so brave!” Cohen exclaimed.
Who are you gonna believe? The IDF or your two lying eyes?
Within a few seconds the commander of the IDF division (an oleh named Danny) charged Cohen and Shapira, then headlocked Cohen and dragged him into a jeep. When Shapira protested, he was thrown to the ground, violently subdued and dragged into a jeep. At no point did Cohen or Shapira attack any soldier.
The IDF Spokesman’s Unit issued a statement on Twitter claiming Cohen and Shapira — “two arrested rioters” — had “attacked an IDF soldier.” However, my footage of the incident completely discredits the IDF’s claim. As I said in the wake of the flotilla massacre, nothing the IDF Spokesman’s Office says can be trusted. Ever. The IDF’s intention is to smear human rights activists as violent terrorists while portraying itself as the blameless victim. Anyone who spends a day in Nabi Saleh or any Palestinian village engaged in popular protest against the occupation will see that the complete reverse is true.
It is worth noting that Shapira and Cohen are two of the most prominent figures among Israel’s small left-wing activist community. Shapira is a former IDF Blackhawk helicopter division leader who earned international renown in 2002 when he refused to carry out patently illegal orders to bombard densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, then organized a letter signed by numerous active duty pilots protesting the occupation.
For his part, Cohen was shot in the left eye with a rubber bullet by an Israeli border policeman while protesting the separation wall near Ramallah. He was 17 years old at the time. While he was a student at Hampshire College, he led the first successful campus divestment in the US of companies involved in the Israeli occupation. Is it any surprise that the IDF has attempted without any evidence of its own to smear Shapira and Cohen as violent “rioters?”
I will post more footage from Nabi Saleh later this weekend, hopefully some footage from a remarkable demonstration in Ni’ilin, and a brief history of the struggle in both villages.
[...] Max Blumenthal and I were in Nabi Salih documenting the demonstration. Max’s footage from the arrest shows that neither Matan or Yoanathan were behaving in a dangerous or violent way. The IDF commander in Nabi Salih, himself an immigrant from South Africa, made the arbitrary decision to arrest these two activists because they were asking why the IDF was firing tear gas at children and then mocked his “brave soldiers”. Max’s account of the day can be found here. [...]
[...] Saleh, West Bank Friday, saying the activists attacked a soldier, but as Journalist Max Blumenthal reported Saturday, the protesters arrested did not attack [...]
where is the first part of the protest? you know the one with the kids throwing the rocks?
and im sorry, but you and the other two stooges were interfering with idf personnel doing their duty.
when the bald headed guy, who really should be in prison for refusing to carry out legal orders, chose to resist and touched the soldier (assault) he was arrested…and far from violently.
as for cohen…just another poor lost soul…..the security wall has saved lives.
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[...] Max Blumenthal and I were in Nabi Salih documenting the demonstration. Max’s footage from the arrest shows that neither Matan or Yoanathan were behaving in a dangerous or violent way. The IDF commander in Nabi Salih made the arbitrary decision to arrest these two activists because they were asking why the IDF was firing tear gas at children and then mocked his “brave soldiers”. Max’s account of the day can be found here. [...]
[...] Here’s Blumenthal’s description of what he actually witnessed at the July 2 demonstration: On July 2, at the weekly demonstration in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh, Israeli army troops violently arrested Israeli activists Yonatan Shapira and Matan Cohen. I witnessed the incident that led to the arrests and filmed them as they took place. As a group of soldiers pursued children up a small hill, then began firing teargas shells and percussion grenades at them, presumably in response to a few stones the children had thrown, Cohen and Shapira mocked the soldiers. “Shooting at children! You are so brave!” Cohen exclaimed. [...]
[...] Comments Demonstration in Nabi Salih: The Camcorder Doesn’t Lie « Shalom Rav on Another IDF Lie Exposed: Army Attacked Activists, Not The Other Way AroundSPREADING LIES ABOUT ACTIVISTS IN THE WEST BANK « Desertpeace on Another IDF Lie Exposed: Army [...]
[...] Shapira and Matan Cohen, violently subduing and arresting them. Though Shapira and Cohen were baselessly accused by the IDF Spokesman’s Office of “attacking” a soldier, they were released hours [...]
walt kovaks wrote “where is the first part of the protest? you know the one with the kids throwing the rocks?
and im sorry, but you and the other two stooges were interfering with idf personnel doing their duty.
when the bald headed guy, who really should be in prison for refusing to carry out legal orders, chose to resist and touched the soldier (assault) he was arrested…and far from violently.”
It’s funny, last June when there were demonstrations in Iran, people uploaded videos which showed Iran’s internal repressive forces (called Sepah) violently attacking people, firing on people, shooting tear-gas arresting people, etc.
The excuses offered by pro-government apologists is identical in every sense to what kovaks and other Israeli-government-apologists have claimed. Even the style and the crazy claims are identical. Both accounts also contain exactly the same amount of truth.
[...] Shapira and Matan Cohen, violently subduing and arresting them. Though Shapira and Cohen were baselessly accused by the IDF Spokesman’s Office of “attacking” a soldier, they were released hours after their [...]
[...] Max Blumenthal and I were in Nabi Salih documenting the demonstration. Max’s footage from the arrest shows that neither Matan or Yoanathan were behaving in a dangerous or violent way. The IDF commander in Nabi Salih made the arbitrary decision to arrest these two activists because they were asking why the IDF was firing tear gas at children and then mocked his “brave soldiers”. Max’s account of the day can be found here. [...]
[...] Another IDF Lie Exposed: Army Attacked Activists, Not The Other Way Around [...]