Israeli Soldiers' Offensive T-Shirts Mock Palestinians; Dehumanization Is NO Joke

The Israeli military condemned t-shirts that mock the killing of pregnant women and children in Gaza as "unacceptable," but Aljazeera English reports today that the "extremely disturbing images" on those t-shirts reflect some Israeli soldiers' attitudes. These T-shirts were ordered by soldiers to commemorate the end of their basic training or field duty.

Offensive images and slogans include:

• Drawing of a pregnant Arab woman with rifle crosshairs superimposed on her abdomen with the message: "One Shot, Two Kills."
• Drawing of a child in a rifle sight with the slogan: "The smaller they are, the harder it is."
• Drawing of an Israeli soldier destroying a mosque with the slogan: "Only God forgives."
• A picture of a dead Palestinian baby with his mother weeping beside him: "Better use Durex [a condom brandname]"
• A drawing of a soldier next to a young woman with bruises: "Bet you got raped!"

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum in Gaza commented that the incident "reflects the brutal mentality among the Zionist soldiers and the Zionist society."

Will the soldiers receive any discipline for their offensive messages? Or will the Israeli military dismiss the incident as representative of "just a few bad apples?"

When women anywhere are degraded, women everywhere are degraded. When children anywhere are dehumanized, children everywhere are dehumanized. The images accompanying this news report illustrate the questionable t-shirts. People everywhere need to question the mentality that produced them.