Breaking the Silence ( non - governmental organization ) Breaking The Silence ( BtS ) ( " Shovrim Shtika " ) is an Israeli Non - Governmental Organization ( NGO ) , located in a western section of Jerusalem , established by Israel Defense Forces ( IDF ) soldiers and veterans who collect and provide testimonies about their military service in the West Bank , Gaza Strip , and East Jerusalem since the Second Intifada , giving serving and discharged Israeli personnel and reservist s a platform to confidentially describe their experience in the Israeli - occupied territories . It has been described , in an American Jewish newspaper , as a " left - wing soldiers ' protest organization " . The organization ' s stated mission is to ' break the silence ' of IDF soldiers who return to civilian life in Israel and " discover the gap between the reality which they encountered in the [ occupied ] territories , and the silence which they encounter at home . " Since 2004 , Breaking the Silence has run a testimonies collection project called " Soldiers Speak Out " They have collected several hundred testimonies from " those who have , during their service in the IDF , the Border Guard , and the Security Forces , played a role in the Occupied Territories . " By publishing soldiers ' accounts , Breaking the Silence hopes to " force Israeli society to address the reality which it created " and face the truth about " abuse towards Palestinians , looting , and destruction of property " that is familiar to soldiers . History . In 2004 , Avichai Sharon , Yehuda Shaul and Noam Chayut exhibited a series of photographs and written accounts from IDF soldiers who had served in the city of Hebron . The three were motivated by a desire for Israel to " confront the truth about its policies " . The exhibition was attended by thousands and the organization has since become a vehicle for serving and ex - service personnel of the IDF to record their testimonies , attracting hundred of members . Shaul , who served with the IDF Nachal unit ’ s 50th battalion in Hebron by completing two tours of duty , is the executive director of BtS . Mikhael Manekin is director of BtS . The organisation ' s main aim is " to break the silence and taboo surrounding the behaviour of Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian territories " . The organization has had a hostile response from the Israeli establishment since 2004 . Government pressure particularly increased after the group disclosed confessions from soldiers who took part in the Gaza bombing in 2008 - 09 . In May 2011 , 24 former soldiers of the IDF provided testimonies describing the " neighbor procedure " . The neighbor procedure uses Palestinian civilians as human shield s to protect soldiers from suspected booby traps or attacks by militants . Some of the testimonies described the daily harassment at military checkpoints and deliberate ransacking of homes . Funding . Breaking the Silence is funded through various grants it receives from Israeli and international donor community . In 2007 , Breaking the Silence received a total of NIS 500 , 000 , and in 2008 it was able to raise NIS 1 . 5 million , around €275 , 000 . This included funding from the New Israel Fund amounting to NIS 229 , 949 and funding from international governments . In 2008 , according to the NGO ' s presentation to the " The Jerusalem " , the British Embassy in Tel Aviv gave the organization NIS 226 , 589 ( c €40 , 000 ) ; the Dutch Embassy donated €19 , 999 ; and the European Union gave €43 , 514 . In addition , during 2008 , Spain is reported to have provided tens of thousands of euros to fund patrols run by Breaking the Silence in Hebron . The Women Soldiers ’ Testimonies report published as part of the NGO ' s in January 2010 was funded by The Moriah Foundation , The New Israel Fund , ICCO , SIVMO , Oxfam GB , The British Embassy in Tel Aviv , the EU , and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation . " Breaking the Silence " representatives who tour to campuses and US Jewish communities , criticizing the IDF policy in the West Bank are sponsored by Jewish and Palestinian organizations . In 2010 , according to Moshe Dann , writing in the Jerusalem Post , Breaking the Silence ' s budget was 3 , 100 , 000 NIS . It received 1 . 5 million from the EU , UK and Spanish governments . The rest came from Oxfam , the New Israel Fund ( NIF ) , Dutch , German , Danish and Irish church organizations , and NDC , the Palestinian NGO which promotes Boycott / Divest / Sanctions ( BDS ) campaigns . Methods used . Since 2004 , Breaking the Silence has run a testimonies collection project called “ Soldiers Speak Out ” They have collected several hundred testimonies from " those who have , during their service in the IDF , the Border Guard , and the Security Forces , played a role in the Occupied Territories . " Anonymous soldier testimony . Breaking the Silence ' s most controversial method is anonymous soldier testimony . The Israeli military has claimed that anonymity of some of the testimonies used by Breaking the Silence has led to failures in the investigation of reported incidents . Breaking the Silence maintains that the anonymity is necessary because of alleged orders by IDF against speaking out publicly . The organization has however stated that personal details of soldiers can be provided to official and independent investigations , if the identities of soldiers are not made public . In June 2004 Breaking the Silence produced a photo exhibition at Yad Eliahu Institute in Tel Aviv detailing some of the alleged abuses of Palestinians in Hebron . It also released a report on the West Bank city of Hevron state of affairs including 39 eyewitness accounts and testimonies of Israeli soldiers . In addition to publishing written and videotaped reports on its website , members of the group have carried out speaking tours throughout Israel , Western Europe and the United States . Some of the incidents reported by members of the movement have stirred public debates in Israel with respect to the implications of its ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories . Hebron tours . BtS is conducting tours to Hebron for the Israeli public . The tours are limited because of alleged settlers attacks . In June 2008 , police District Commander Avshalom Peled said that BtS provokes settlers in hope of producing a violent response , and that the organization ' s behavior is " severe and dangerous " . Police further claimed that BtS had held an illegal rally during a Hebron tour on 25 April . Gaza conflict . A post operation discussion on the 2008 – 2009 Israel – Gaza conflict at the Yitzak Rabin pre - military course at Oranim Academic College at Kiryat Tiv ' on caused an international furor . The Palestinian accusations of indiscriminate and disproportionate firepower being used in civilian areas during the ground assault , that the Israeli government had dismissed as " Palestinian propaganda " , had apparently been backed by IDF testimonies at post operation discussions . The IDF conducted an investigation and the Military Advocate General announced that the soldiers testimonies regarding civilians being shot were based on hearsay and no corroborating evidence was found . Breaking the Silence confirmed it had also taken testimony , from soldiers who took part in the Gaza assault , of a similar nature to the allegations made by soldiers at the conference of graduates of the Yitzak Rabin pre - military course . On 15 July 2009 ' Breaking the Silence ' published a new booklet " Soldiers ' Testimonies from Operation Cast Lead , Gaza 2009 " . According to Breaking the Silence the booklet compiles the testimonies of about 30 reserve and regular combat soldiers from various units that participated in the fighting . 54 testimonies / stories reveal the use of " firing of phosphorus gas in the direction of populated areas , the killing of innocent victims [ using ] small arms , destruction of hundreds of houses and mosques for no military purpose . " Testimonies also claimed that a tactic called ' Neighbor Procedure ' was used , in which civilians , referred to as ' the Johnnie ' were used as human shields and forced to enter buildings ahead of soldiers . The soldiers testimonies also included what The Times described as " the role of military rabbis in distributing booklets that framed the fighting as a religious war . " Many of the soldiers allege they were given orders by their commanders to prevent harm to Israeli soldiers by any means necessary . They stated that brigade , battalion , and company commanders gave morale - building conversations before combat that led to " zero patience for the life of enemy civilians " . According to the authors , the testimonies expose significant gaps between the official stances of the Israeli military and events on the ground . The Israeli military dismissed the July 2009 report , saying that it was " investigating many of the requests from NGOs and other groups . . . But when you have a report that is based on hearsay , with no facts whatsoever , we can ' t do anything with it . " It said that in the past some allegations had turned out to be second or third - hand accounts , rather than the witnesses ' own experience . Breaking the Silence argues that it verifies all of its information by cross - referencing the testimonies it collects . The material that is eventually published has been confirmed by a number of testimonies , from several different points of view . Breaking the Silence also made it clear that the personal details of the soldiers quoted in the collection , and the exact location of the incidents described in the testimonies , would readily be made available to any official and independent investigation of the events , as long as the identity of the testifiers did not become public . Women soldiers ’ testimonies . In January 2010 , Breaking the Silence released a booklet called " Women Soldiers ’ Testimonies " as part of their testimonies collection project " Soldiers Speak Out " . The booklet contains 96 anonymous testimonies from more than 40 female officers , commanders and soldiers in various units who served as combatants and in supporting combat roles in the Israeli - occupied territories since the year 2000 . The booklet lists the rank , unit and location of the soldiers who provided the testimonies . Ynetnews published excerpts that it described as " systematic humiliation of Palestinians , reckless and cruel violence , theft , killing of innocent people and cover - up . " The IDF ' s Spokesperson ' s Office , responding to the publication stated " These are anonymous testimonies , without any mention of a time or a place , and their reliability cannot be examined in any way . The IDF is a controlled state organization , which learns and draws lessons , and cooperates with any serious body with the shared goal of exhausting any inquiry when such an examination is inquired . " Occupation of the Territories : Israeli Soldier Testimonies 2000 - 2010 . In 2011 , BtS published " Occupation of the Territories : Israeli Soldier Testimonies 2000 - 2010 " ( also published as " Our Harsh Logic : Israeli Soldiers ' Testimonies from the Occupied Territories , 2000 - 2010 " ISBN 978 - 0805095371 ) . The book contains first - hand accounts by over 100 Israeli soldiers . David Shulman , Professor of Humanistic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , described the book in " The New York Review of Books " as " one of the most important published on Israel / Palestine in this generation . " . According to NGO Monitor , the testimony is anonymous , without dates , locations or contexts for the incidents described and included 183 incidents that were submitted by alleged soldiers , but only 16 were reported to the Israel Defense Force superiors at the time . This , according to " The Jewish Press " , " makes it especially difficult to rely on the credibility or motivation for the late , non - reported , anonymous ' episodic ' revelations . " Elliott Abrams , former U . S . Assistant Secretary of State and senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations , writes that the report contained many interviews during the Second Intifada , when the Israel Defense Forces was trying to stop terrorist acts and suicide bombings that were killing thousands of Israeli civilians . Abrams charged that the report failed to illustrate the reality in which Israel was dealing with at the time . Abrams summed it up as , " put simply , the book ' s description of a West Bank living in deliberately inflicted misery does not comport with reality . " Israeli government criticism . Israel has protested the international government funding of Breaking the Silence . It made clear that it objected to the funding by Britain , the Netherlands and Spain of NGOs " with a clear anti - government agenda " , and made attempts to dissuade the governments from continuing that funding . In relation to Spain ' s provision of tens of thousands of euros to fund patrols run by Breaking the Silence in Hebron , Israel said that this funding was disproportionate to that for human rights organizations in Arab countries . The Israeli Ambassador to the Netherlands said that Israel was a democracy and that such funds should go to places without it . Breaking the Silence was a " legal and legitimate organization " , he said , but its funding by the Dutch government was unreasonable " in light of the political sensitivities . " Another senior Israeli official said : " A friendly government cannot fund opposition bodies . We are not a third world country . " After its report on Gaza , Breaking the Silence came under severe criticism from the government of Israel . In response to criticism ten Israeli based human rights organizations have written a petition ( " Do not silence ' Breaking the Silence " ) against the ' aggressive repression of the organization by the Foreign Ministry of Israel and other governmental agents ' which reached its peak when the government attempted to interfere with the group ’ s funding . The petitioning organizations have publicly declared support for Breaking the Silence . Journalist Jonathan Cook reported that the government campaign is reported to be the brainchild of the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel Avigdor Lieberman , but has the backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . Ehud Barak , Israel ' s defence minister , said : " Criticism directed at the IDF by one organisation or another is inappropriate and is directed at the wrong place . " The head of the Israel Police ' s Hebron district , Commander Avshalom Peled said " Organizations such as Bnei Avraham and Breaking the Silence are wolves in sheeps ' clothing " and " The left - wing organizations have become an even greater threat than the anarchists . " MK Zahava Gal - On ( Meretz ) responded to the report saying " It would seem as though the police are working for the Kahanist and fascist groups in Hebron . I call on the internal security minister to conduct an investigation into the conduct of police forces in Hebron . " Other criticism and controversy . In September 2012 , in the context of a Breaking the Silence report on abuse IDF abuse of Palestinian children , Danny Lamm , president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry , expressed his concern that the Israel Defense Forces were unable to look into any of the claims because they are presented as " anonymous . . . devoid of critical detail and untested by any kind of cross - questioning . " In addition , Lamm said that Breaking the Silence is exploiting the testimonies " for propaganda effect . " Yehuda Shaul , a Breaking the Silence member , said on this matter that , " over 70 of our testifiers have come out publicly with their names and identities revealed , and I ' m one of them . If the IDF was interested in investigating our claims , we probably would have already been summoned to interrogations " . About Lamm ' s criticism specifically , Dana Golan , executive director of Breaking the Silence , said the testimonies " meet the highest standards of investigative journalism " and unusual cases are " corroborated by two independent sources . " In a statement co - signed by 15 ex - soldiers , she accused Lamm of " pontificating from afar . " In May 2012 , The Forward Editor at Large , J . J . Goldberg , wrote that Breaking the Silence is a " left - wing soldiers ’ protest organization " as part of an article on certain rabbis being involved with the Israel Defense Forces . In July 2009 , journalist Amos Harel published in " Ha ’ aretz " : “ Breaking the Silence . . . has a clear political agenda , and can no longer be classed as a ‘ human rights organization . ’ Any organization whose website includes the claim by members to expose the ‘ corruption which permeates the military system ’ is not a neutral observer . The organization has a clear agenda : to expose the consequences of IDF troops serving in the West Bank and Gaza . This seems more of interest to its members than seeking justice for specific injustices . ” It was also criticized as promoting Anti - Israeli lawfare