Media Releases

Canberra Times – 2 June 2018

Avner Gvaryahu, the Executive Director of Breaking the Silence, describes the Gaza border riots as an “unarmed protest” (Canberra Times/The Age/Sydney Morning Herald), “‘Don’t be afraid to shoot'”, May 31).

In fact, many of the protestors were armed, including with guns, knives and explosives, Israel only shot those attempting to breach the border to let what amounts to terrorist killing squads through, and the vast majority of those killed were from terror groups.

Breaking the Silence has been heavily criticised because this is typical of the one-sided, factually-flawed nature of its claims and because it refuses to divulge the sources of its allegations, or where they are alleged to have occurred, making it impossible for Israel to investigate and, if necessary prosecute. Instead, it prefers to circulate the allegations internationally, to advance its avowed aim of “ending the Occupation”.

Criticising the Israeli decision to deploy snipers at the Gaza border as immoral, Gvaryahu says that if you walk around with a hammer “everything begins to look like a nail.” Perhaps when you make a comfortable living and are feted all over the world for harshly criticising your country and its army, everything it does begins to look immoral.

Jamie Hyams, Senior Policy Analyst, AIJAC