Oct. 8, 2003
'This should be the last lesson I give the Air Force'
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN
Outside Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yiftah Spector's house is a plastic bin filled
with trash. On top of the heap is the Yediot Aharonot weekend magazine
featuring the pilots, himself included, who have refused to participate in
targeted killings.
Spector himself will not go quietly to the garbage can of history. His
ferocious self-confidence and sense of mission prevent this man from
falling to the wayside of contrition and regret.
Spector is the most senior of the signatories of the 27 pilots who refused
to participate in targeted assassinations and advocated ending the
occupation.
"I don't fly anymore. They threw me out," he told The Jerusalem Post this
week, his bare feet up on his large wooden desk of his office, decorated
with his own paintings. "I'm 63. The country isn't losing much. Until a
week ago I was training flight instructors. The air force thought I was
suitable for this task. But in light of my political expressions - not
while I was wearing a uniform and not in a military framework - last
Friday [OC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Dan] Halutz summoned me to his office and
asked me for permission to end my flying.
"I felt this was something he needed to do for his own authority so I told
him 'No problem.' I put my record and my reputation and my wings on the
table for the future," said Spector.
And so ended the flying career of this living legend, a man who helped
write the pages of Israel's history books for bad and for good, the man
who taught most of the present commanders how to fly and tales of who's
exploits are used to raise young pilots.
Spector pretends it doesn't hurt. Since signing what he calls the
"declaration" and which the nation calls the "pilots' letter," he has been
busy trying to explain why he agreed with their refusal to carry out
"illegal and immoral orders" and condemn Israel's occupation of the
territories for corrupting the country and undermining its security.
In many ways Spector is the epitome of "the new Jew," a son of a hero, a
triple ace, a mythological fighter pilot turned painter and sculpture who
led squadrons into some of the most fateful battles of the Jewish state.
If pilots were the elite of Israel, he symbolizes the elite of the elite.
He is the son of one of the "23 men in the boat," a group that was sent in
World War II to demolish oil installations in Lebanon (at the time under
Nazi-puppet Vichy French control) and were never heard of again. He
participated in the attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981.
So when a man like this signed on as the senior ranking officer among the
27 pilots refusing to do what they feel is illegal, the nation listens.
The tidal wave of reaction hit him while he was in India visiting a
friend.
"I am not a refuser, the contrary," he says. "Yes, I refuse to carry out
an illegal order, but this is not being a refusnik. I fulfill the laws of
the state. I pay taxes and have fought for the state every time they
asked. I am not a refuser in the same way that a woman who refuses to be
raped is not a refuser."
Spector relates how a few weeks ago a young pilot came to his house on a
moshav in the center of the country with a letter. Spector was on his way
to the airport for a trip abroad, but the pilot was persistent so he laid
out the letter on his large white pine kitchen table and read it.
"'It's badly drafted,' I told him. 'Let me fix it. You are mixing two
issues, one political and one legal.' The kid told me that the declaration
had already been signed by a number of people. The kid pointed out to me
that I had just said I agreed with it and it was up to me to make a
decision. I agreed that we could not carry out illegal orders and I am at
the head of a movement that says that the occupation is eroding us.
"'What is important for you, Mr. Spector. What are you, a lawyer?' I said
to myself. 'Was this how you were raised? Or were you brought up concerned
about human lives and principles?' I signed it.
"I didn't join this group. I signed a declaration. I have signed lots of
declarations, but always as a civilian," he added. "No one will silence
me."
But this argument rang hollow since some of the pilots were photographed
wearing their flight suits and helmets. For the record, Spector said he
opposed such a move.
Spector also rejects the claim that these principles of disobeying illegal
orders were self evident among the entire military.
"Why should I and the other pilots strip off our shirts and start yelling
like a mad man 'I don't want to kill!' Why? It's because these pilots and
myself have a sense that this could happen. We have enough examples to
tell us we are walking on the edge."
The timing of the pilot's letter came after the IAF deliberately
undermined a strike on Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and top
Hamas henchmen by choosing to use a smaller bomb that would reduce
civilian casualties. Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon himself
said that choice was made because that principle overrode the military
objective.
Speaking to the Post on Tuesday, the day after Yom Kippur, Spector
recalled the same day 30 years before. Commander of a vaunted 107th F-4
squadron, he said the situation on the second day of the Yom Kippur War
was one of chaos close to collapse.
He himself had embarked three combat missions that day on both fronts. It
took another week before he felt his squadron was back on its feet.
"We were like a boxer who had been hit in the nose and were striking out
in all directions. There was a lack of faith," Spector said.
"Today I know what I am doing. Where as in the Yom Kippur War I didn't. I
was carrying out orders from people who had lost their bearing. Then, I
was serving the state. Today, I am a citizen and I am sovereign. I am a
civilian and I am saying what I demand from my government," Spector says.
Spector says he knew the pilots' letter would become scandalous, but
didn't foresee just how large of a splash it ultimately made. He blames
this mainly on the way the IAF reacted. He believes Halutz should have
summoned the pilots to his office to hear them out and chastise them
quietly for introducing politics into their military service. Ironically,
this is exactly the criticism the air force has of the pilots who chose a
PR campaign instead of keeping their concerns in house.
"People are asking me why am I using the fact that I am a pilot to express
political opinions? I don't think that the only one who can express
opinions on bad command are bereaved parents," Spector says.
Spector has no qualms about raising the background to the purity of arms
in the IDF, mentioning Deir Yassin, Kibya, and Kafr Kasim where Israeli
fighters killed civilians.
"The prime minister was involved in some of these," he notes. "We are
fighting against a civilian population because our government doesn't have
any solution other than using brute force."
Spector says that if he were a Palestinian living under the oppression of
Israel today he would strongly fight against it.
"My father fought against the British Mandate and against the Nazis. If I
were an Arab, part of a people who were being treated like this I would
fight it too."
He espouses a unilateral separation from the Palestinians to preserve the
Jewish State.
Spector opened up his computer flight log. There have been very few like
him in the IAF; nearly 7,000 flight hours, 8,500 sorties including 334
combat flights. A triple ace having shot down 15 enemy aircraft. Only one
other Israeli pilot shot down more planes.
Spector says he did 47 days of reserve duty so far in 2003, and flew 110
times. The last flight?
"Gee, I don't remember, I think it was a night-time training flight with
flight instructors."
He says he gave up his wings willingly, but notes others who have signed
the letter have not coped as well.
"One of these kids phoned me and cried. They told him they are grounding
him and he doesn't know what to do. I asked him how old he was, and he
told me 25. I told him 'You've developed a spine, use it.'"
After a life of incredible victories he sacrificed his wings by joining a
declaration whose benefits are shrouded in controversy. But he has no
regrets.
"I left Halutz last Friday. I put my wings on the table and I told him
take them," Spector says. "I want freedom to speak. He didn't let me go
and we talked for two hours. I shook his hand and I told him 'Halutz, this
should be the last lesson I give the air force.'"
Excerpts from the pilots' letter
"We, veteran and active pilots alike, who served and still serve the State
of Israel for long weeks every year, are opposed to carrying out attack
orders that are illegal and immoral of the type the State of Israel has
been conducting in the territories...
"We, who were raised to love the State of Israel and contribute to the
Zionist enterprise, refuse to take part in air force attacks on civilian
population centers. We, for whom the Israel Defense Forces and the air
force are an inalienable part of ourselves, refuse to continue to harm
innocent civilians...
"These actions are illegal and immoral, and are a direct result of the
ongoing occupation which is corrupting all of Israeli society...
"Perpetuation of the occupation is fatally harming the security of the
State of Israel and its moral strength."
The world gets crazier and crazier everyday, doesn't it? The world that many
of us thought was there, isn't. The bottom has dropped out of everything. The
illusions have been revealed, we have found out who has been pulling the strings
behind the scenes. Millions have lost their jobs, have mortgage
problems, and
foreclosure. What can be done? Amazingly, we have been mislead. We have been
taught that we can control government by voting. The founder of the Rothschild
dynasty, Mayer Amschel Bauer, told the secret of controlling the government
of a nation over 200 years ago. He said, "Permit
me to issue and control the money of a nation and I care not who makes its
laws." Get
the picture? Your freedom hinges first on the nation's banks and money system.
It's all about 'commerce'. Freedom is connected with Debt Elimination for
each individual. Not only does this end
personal debt, it places the people first in line
as creditors to the National Debt ahead of the banks. They don't wish for
you to know this. It has to do with recognizing WHO you really are in A
New Beginning: A Practical Course in Miracles, an informational study. Is
your credit rating bad for reasons that seem out of your control? There are
ways of credit repair,
so you can men those broken fences too. Do you want to keep your children protected
from outside forces, there are ways of protecting
your children. Do you want
to keep your sons and daughters free from 'the draft'? Check this out.
Disclaimer - The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
The myriad of facts, conjecture, perspectives, viewpoints, opinions, analyses,
and information in the articles, stories and commentaries posted on this site
range from cutting edge hard news and comment to extreme and unusual perspectives.
We choose not to sweep uncomfortable material under the rug - where it can
grow and fester. We choose not to censor skewed logic and uncomfortable rhetoric.
These things reflect the world as it now is - for better and worse. We present
multiple facts, perspectives, viewpoints, opinions, analyses, and information. If
you have more information on a certain subject that verifies it, challenges
it or make a comment on it, please e.mail
us.
Journalism is (or used to be) the profession of gathering and presenting a broad panorama of news about the events of our times and presenting it to readers for their own consideration. We believe in the intelligence, judgment and wisdom of our readers to discern for themselves among the data which appears on this site that which is valid and worthy...or otherwise. See full legal disclaimer
 |
|
|
|
The
most effective CANDIDA
DEFENSE product
available. This proprietary formula is teeming with live bacteria
that start to work right away to help rid the body of tough
Candida organisms. visit
this site: ghtdirect.com/KARA
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
11/18/09
In the News
-Sen.
Dodd on Warpath Against Fed
-Rise
in soldier suicides leaves Pentagon looking for answers
-Computer
games fan 'planned school massacre'
-Woman
awarded $3M in assault claim against KBR
-Al
Gore: Earth's Interior 'Extremely Hot, Several Million Degrees
-Internet
Under Seige
-video Water
Drop at 2000 Frames per Second
-A
glitch causes widespread US air travel delays
-Students
storm UCLA building to protest expected UC system fee increase [Updated]
-Couple
arrested for not paying 18% tip...(say what?)
11/18/09
In the News
-Maersk
Alabama repels 2nd pirate attack with guns
-DEADLY PNEUMONIC VIRUS STRANGLES
UKRAINE
-Mexican
Government Admits ET's are Real!
-Washington
Post: D.C. quietly folds up police checkpoint program
-More
than $98 billion in improper gov't payments
-Washington
Post: D.C. to pay $450,000 to war protesters over 2002 interrogation
-Judge:
Corps' negligence caused Katrina flooding
-CHINA:Children’s
hospital doctor on duty playing games, 5-month-old baby dies
-Government
Web site says stimulus created jobs in nonexistent districts
11/17/09
In the News
-BOMBSHELL:
Bin Laden worked for US until 9/11
-Man
says 30-foot 'monster' lurking in canals of Madeira Beac
-L.A.
water main breaks may be tied to reservoir, DWP says
11/16/09
In The News
-Farmers,
Ranchers Fighting Back Against FDA Tyranny Over Animal Farms
-AFGHANISTAN
/ THE BIG PICTURE
-Protesters:
IDF used .22-caliber ammo at West Bank fence
-Rabbit
Hole
-75,343
Bogus jobs 'created or saved' by the Stimulus
-Paul
Mirengoff: Why does he hate us? Barack Obama's America-effacing presidency
-Obama
- Don't Lecture China On Censorship
-Boy
on milk carton still missing after 30 years
-Girl's
body found in North Carolina, police say
-Oklahoma
doctor held in death of son, 9
-4.6
earthquake hits in San Bernardino County
-Millions
will have to repay part of tax credi
-Chinese
censors block Obama's call to free the Web
-AP
Poll: Americans fret over health overhaul costs
-Watchdog:
Gov't may have overpaid to bail out AIG
-Blue
lights installed in Tokyo train stations to stop suicides
-I
introduced Belle to vice girls: It showed her the 'human face' of
sex trade, says father
-Torture
Resisters Arrested at Fort Huachuca
11/15/09
In the News
-U.S.:
Army Sends Infant to Protective Services, Mom to Afghanistan
-HUGE
NEWS! FEDERAL JUDGE Carter sets Trial Date for Obama's Eligibility!!!
-Mystery
of Bangladesh's mass arsenic poisoning solved
-On
Abortion, Hypocrisy Reigns Among Blue Dog, Republicans & Christians
-A
Death in Tehran
-Pregnant
Women Reporting H1N1 Vax Miscarriages
-Fragile
Care Worsened Swine Flu in Ukraine
-Counties
in Kansas designated as disaster areas
-no
one at Columbia remember Mr. Obama
11/14/09
In the News
-AMERICA
IS ME
-Huge
Rise In Birth Defects In Falluja
-TV
evangelist jailed over child 'brides'
-Sleeping
boy attacked in Sydney home
-Obama
to attack guns as public-health?
11/13/09
In the News
-More
girls in India are refusing to become child brides
-NASA
finds water found on the moon
-Lawyer:
Accused Fort Hood gunman may be paralyzed
-Blasts
rip through Russian arms depot
-Facebook
crowdsourced investigation exposes vaccine denials of SIGA Technologies
-THE
REVOLT OF
THE FIFTH ESTATE / THE PEOPLE
-Suspect
sought in acid attack on South L.A. woman
-Woman ‘Incurably’ Crippled
by Vaccine Cured by Alternative Healer
11/12/09
In the News
-PREMEDITATED
MERGER
-Vaccine
Victims Blamed For National Emergency:
-How
the US army protects its trucks – by paying the Taliban
-Combivir:
The HIV Drug in Hasan's Shoe Box
-America's
Shameful Neglect
-Mujib
Rahman wanted to be the first Bangladeshi elected to New York's City
Council. His strategy: tell voters about his opponent's sexuality
-An
'Honor Flight' for WWII Vets
-Pressure
grows on Barack Obama as memos expose rifts over Afghan policy
-New
account of Fort Hood shooting may put another officer in spotlight
-Give
Us $7B or We Kill the Trees
-Bomb
hits Pakistan's spy agency in northwest
-Deputies
Hold Boy Who Fled Flu Shot
-Judge
Andrew Napolitano Natural rights Patriot Act - Part 3 of 3
-Join
reader action to educate the Associated Press about natural remedies,
alternative medicin
-Riverside
County prosecutors today announced a 155-count indictment in a large
public corruption investigation that includes charges against several
elected officials.
-Palin
in book: McCain aides kept me 'bottled up
-Feds
move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran
-Fed:
banks need customer consent on overdraft fees
For
more news
|
New information
on accessible
and affordable products that
kill mycoplasma and viruses!
polRN
Tired of trying to get that
old tile and grout clean?
Who You gonna call?
|
SALE
$2775.00 till 12/25/09
(free shipping up to $125
in continental U.S.)
The
Ten minute exerciser, all you have to do is find ten spare
minutes a few times a week to reach optimal results. 
Whole Body
Vibration is a fascinating new technology, and is being used
by celebrities and athletes
the world over. From hard bodies like Madonna and Gwen Stefani,
to champion Lance Armstrong, vibration exercise is the choice
among the fittest today. Many professional Sports teams now
use Whole Body Vibration in their training.
SALE
$2775.00
till 12/25/09
(free shipping up to $125
in continental U.S.)
For more information on the Noblerex
K1
Please Click
Here |
|
