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Washington Report, January/February 2006, page 67 Human Rights Israeli Navy Commando Challenged at AU
ISRAELI Navy Commando Major Joey Asch spoke on the subject “Israel: Through the Eyes of a Navy Commando” at American University in Washington, DC on Nov. 14. He was introduced by Yosefi M. Seltzer, chair of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists’ Military Bar Committee, and Hasbara Fellow Robert Tennenbaum of American University Washington College of Law’s Israel and Law Society. Organizers touted Asch’s speech as a “unique first-hand account as an expert and patriot…recognized in Israel for treating Palestinians with extreme humanitarian values.” In 1986, Asch joined the infamous Shayetet-13 Elite Navy Commando Special Forces Unit, a military division born out of the Hagannah naval forces. This unit has been involved in numerous covert operations from “Operation Spring of Youth,” featured in the forthcoming Steven Spielberg film titled “Munich,” to the assassinations of Abu Jihad and Ahmed Jibril, and to Israel’s current targeted assassinations in the West Bank and Gaza. After studying law at Bar Illan University, Asch now works as an assistant district attorney in Jerusalem. He continues to serve as a commander in the navy reserves, most notably in Jenin during the March-April 2002 “Operation Defensive Shield.” He was promoted from captain to major after Israel’s two-week invasion of Jenin, in which at least 72 Palestinians were killed and 23 Israeli soldiers died, and over 800 local homes were destroyed by Caterpillar bulldozers. Considering Asch a potential war criminal, American University Students for Justice in Palestine (AUSJP) organized a protest before the event in which they read reports about what happened in Jenin and held signs with the names of murdered Palestinians. Following the demonstration, the activists filed in to listen to Asch’s lecture, entitled “The many dilemmas for fighting terrorism.” As a result, the majority of the 40-person audience was clad in black and wearing keffyehs. Asch described a number of scenarios in which he had to make a quick decision about killing Palestinians, repeatedly asking the audience “what do you do?” One scenario occurred when he was studying at Bar Illan. In the early morning Asch had been involved in a raid in Tulkarm, “an Israeli town,” he said, to capture a “wanted man.” Later that day in class, he was learning about due process—that arrests require a warrant signed by a judge. He realized that his unit did not have such a warrant for that morning’s arrest operation and asked the audience, “Did I break the law? Did I violate human rights? Obviously not.” He dismissed the applicability of human rights and due process because, he argued, the law does not apply to terrorists. He continued to pose questions to the audience involving snap decisions, without any reference to the reasons why he might be in danger as an Israeli occupation soldier, followed by “what would you do?” Not only did Asch not cite any law in his arguments, but at one point he even stated he would not “quote law books or legal journals” to support his arguments. “You can’t be soft,” Asch said, in a New York accent, as he related a story from “Operation Defensive Shield” concerning a fellow soldier who was giving food to families as he operated from their homes. This soldier was killed a few hours later, Asch said, and, although he admitted he had no evidence to link the two occurrences, Asch used the story to justify treating Palestinians harshly. He also argued that Israel was more humane than other armies because they go house to house in urban warfare, a tactic that “minimizes civilian casualties” but is “dangerous to soldiers.” By contrast, he said, Western countries normally just bomb cities in which terrorists operate. Following Asch’s speech, the activists read a mock arrest warrant for war crimes, which was poorly received by the organizers. As activists continued to challenge Asch during the question-and-answer period, the organizers called campus security to remove “disruptive” people. For more information about this event, contact The Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) at <jlsa@wcl.american.edu>. —Matt Horton |
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