Distinction in travel journalism
Is independent travel journalism important to you?
Click here to keep it independent

3 Apr, 2016

Conflict of Interest: Americans in the Israeli military – The Jerusalem Fund

In the latest unrest gripping the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 21-year old Tuvya Weisman was stabbed and killed. Weisman was an Israeli settler and off-duty sergeant in the IDF, but he also happened to be a US citizen.

The US State Department issued the following press statement regarding the attack: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack that took place yesterday in the West Bank that resulted in the death of US citizen Tuvya Weisman. There is no justification for terrorism. This horrific incident again underscores the need for all sides to reject violence, and urgently take steps to restore calm, reduce tensions, and bring an immediate end to the violence.”

Putting the utility and morality of such acts aside, an inconvenient yet honest question to ask is why was Weisman, an American, serving in the IDF? More specifically, why is an American allowed to serve in the military of a foreign state that continues to expand illegal settlements on land occupied for almost half a century?

Read the rest: Conflict of Interest: Americans in the IDF – The Jerusalem Fund