There is no international law against stupidity. Therefore, Karmi Gilon cannot be tried onthis account.
The foolish actions of the Ambassador-on-the-way (the way home) start with his agreeing tobecome the Israeli ambassador in Denmark in the first place. Denmark is a very sensitivecountry. For some reason, the Danes don’t like torture, nor do they like torturers. Why would aperson who headed the Israeli Security Service (nicknamed Shin-Bet or Shabak, by its Hebrewinitials), at a time when it practiced wholesale torture, insist on serving in Denmark of allplaces? Why should he not be content with the post of ambassador in Guatemala or the Congo?
One could phrase it like this: Early in life a person must decide what he wants to become when hegrows up. He can either become a Shin-Betnick or an ambassador to Denmark. He can’t becomeboth.
But Gilon accepted the job. That was folly #1. It was nothing compared to folly #2: After theoutcry in Denmark had already started, Gilon undertook to explain to the slow-witted Danesthat torturing Palestinians was not only extremely important, but also that the Shin-Betwould be well-advised to resort to it again (if indeed it has ever been stopped).
The resulting outcry induced the Danish government to consider arresting His Excellency onarrival.
The only diplomatic thing for the ambassador to do now is to break his leg diplomatically, sothat he will be compelled to give up the post. If he does not do so voluntarily, ModeratePhysical Pressure should be applied.
This affair has another aspect that should be considered. On the morrow of the Six-Day War, theprophet Isayah (Leibowitz) prophesied that the occupation would turn us into a nation offoremen and Shin-Betnicks. This prophesy has been fulfilled. In other countries, SecretService people work in the dark. Even after becoming pensioners, they keep quiet. But inIsrael, they are elected to the Knesset, figure in the gossip columns, star in high societyparties, shoot their mouths off in talk-shows and write commentaries in the papers. Now theyare being sent abroad as ambassadors.
And Foreign Minister Shimon Peres explains that Gilon, the great patriot, acted according tothe laws of Israel and only followed orders. That tells the Danes that something is rotten inthe state of Israel. “Only followed orders” sounds awful to people with a memory. The Danes, itseems, remember.
It is to be hoped that the Gilon affair will put an end to these nominations. The slogan will be:Shin-Betnick, Stay Home!
Parallel to the Gilon business, the Sharon affair is taking place in Belgium. This, too, hasfar-reaching implications.
It started years ago, but nobody noticed at the time. General Amos Yaron, a star of the Sabra andShatila affair, was sent as military attache to the United States and Canada. When themassacre occurred, Yaron was the commanding officer in the area. Elli Hbeika, the Phalangistcommander, orchestrated the massacre from the roof of Yaron’s command post,. Yaron’sofficers heard what was happening and reported to him. After the war, Yaron – to his credit –admitted that “our senses had become blunted”.
As military attache, Yaron did not encounter any difficulty in the States. But in Canada he hita wall. The Canadians just did not want to see his face. He acted prudently and a scandal wasavoided. Now he serves a Director General of the Ministry of Defense.
His boss, Ariel Sharon, has never admitted to blunted senses. Even now, when proceedings havestarted against him in Belgium for his part in the Sabra and Shatila atrocities, he professesto be a righteous man. “This is not a personal matter,” he told reporters, “It is a matter of theState of Israel.” (“It is not a personal matter” has always been Sharon’s preferredstock-phrase.)
Not a personal matter? A matter of the State of Israel? Very sorry, we are the citizen of Israeland it most certainly is not a matter of ours. We did not take a gang of certified murderers, whohad already committed atrocities in half a dozen Palestinian camps, and put them into thedefenseless Sabra and Shatila camps. We did not light the night for them, nor provide them withtractors to cover the bodies. If that was a war crime, it is a very personal affair of Sharon andhis entourage.
I object to the involvement of the legal apparatus of the state, led by the pussy-footingAttorney General, in Sharon’s defense in my name and at my expense.
All these affairs have a common denominator: Something has changed in the world. The soonerthis is understood in Israel, the better for many people, soldiers and functionaries.
At the beginning of the new century, at long last, humanity has woken up and started to deal withwar crimes, the bane of the 20 th century. The international criminal court is on the way, and inmany countries public sentiment demands that war-criminals, like the pirates of old, shouldbe tried and punished in any country that catches them.
This movement will become stronger and stronger. Belgium is a pioneer. Little Denmark willserve as a model for other civilized countries. “For the law shall go forth from Brussels, andthe word of humanity from Copenhagen”. It may be that because of its black past, Europe is now soeager to put an end to atrocities.
Every minister, member of the Knesset, general and private must engrave this now on his heart:You are personally responsible for every atrocity in which you take part. No more can you hidebehind “I received instructions” or “I only followed orders”. Somebody may catch you in aParis nightclub or in the mountains of Nepal.
Recently, Gush Shalom formulated a TV ad for soldiers, warning them of this danger. The Voiceof Israel refused to broadcast it. Perhaps the Supreme Court will be asked to intervene. But ifI were now a reserve soldier, I would be very cautious.
In the infamous Kafr Kassem massacre affair (1956), the Judge Binjamin Halevy wrote about a”black flag” waving over illegal orders, which soldiers must refuse to follow. He wasreferring to the law of the state, but now it has become the law of the international community.This black flag is waving over many orders given daily in the occupied territories.
The Minister of Transportation, Ephraim Sneh, recently burst out: “You (Sharon) will notdrag me with you to the Hague!” He meant, of course, the international war crimes court. If Iwere a general, I would be saying exactly that to the Chief-of-Staff, Shaul Mofaz.
A new games has started, and the rules have changed. The world is telling us: You have beenwarned!