CCN
August 16, 2014 12:33 pm·
A former Israeli soldier’s message to the people of the U.S. is a startling one. Eran Efrati says that “if you don’t care about Palestinians… You guys should know: you are next in line.”
Efrati, 28, was born and raised in Jerusalem, serving in the IDF as a combat soldier and company sergeant in Battalion 50 of the Nachal Division. Most of his military service was in Hebron and throughout the West Bank.
In 2009, he was discharged and joined Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that is working to raise awareness about the daily reality in the Occupied Territories.
Now Efrati is working as the chief investigator of the organization. He collects testimonies from IDF soldiers about their activities and guides political tours in the West Bank.
His message for Americans about Palestine is a poignant one:
“If you don’t care about Palestinians… You guys should know: you are next in line. The next one who will die from a tear gas canister into his chest will be in Zucotti Park, will be in Denver, will be in Oakland, in San Francisco. It is happening here already. It is happening to different people, to people of color, to immigrants in this country, it is already happening. You guys are next in line. The next one will die out of brutality of the police will be one of your sons or your daughters–in a protest. Because they [U.S. police] are training together. Your police–training with our army. Our army is training them how to take care of the enemy. . . . But when they come back, you are their enemy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93hqlmrZKd8
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