IDF officer stages protest over Hebron film screening
LIMMUD 2023: Matam Barmoy, who fought in Gaza up until last week, is escorted out of event after describing film about alleged abuse by soldiers as 'lies'
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
An IDF officer who was fighting Hamas in Gaza up until last week has been escorted out of an event at Limmud 2023 after staging a protest about the content of a film which showed ex-soldiers giving testimonies about alleged abuse of Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Matam Barmoy, who revealed he had been a serving officer in the IDF for 70 days during the current fight against Hamas in Gaza, walked up to the podium while the film Mission: Hebron was being screened on Sunday.
As a packed audience watched on he proceeded to shout “shame on you” before describing the content of the film, which featured ex-IDF soldiers accounts of alleged incidents in Hebron as “lies.”
Controversy at this year’s Limmud 2023 festival as officer in the IDF, serving in Gaza until last week, protests about the content of film on Hebron being screened which he describes as ‘lies’. pic.twitter.com/hJrD0mSP0G
— lee harpin (@lmharpin) December 24, 2023
Barmoy then urged the audience to instead view “the movie about Hamas and what they did in Gaza to our people”.
He was then escorted out of the screening room, continuing to shout, “Shame on you”.
Sunday’s screening, at the festival which is taking place at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham, had been organised by Breaking the Silence, a group known for its critical stance on the Israeli military’s actions in the West Bank.
Barmoy, who has now begun work for the World Zionist Organisation, later told Jewish News that he continues to believe the IDF operates as “a moral army… we believe in human rights.”
He said: “Until last week I had been an officer in the IDF in Gaza during the war. I was out of my house for 70 days.”
Barmoy added: “We are now fighting against Nazis. From 7 October, we understood that Israel was going to be destroyed if we did not go out and fight back immediately.”
Accepting that a war-time environment can produce terrible situations, he said he took issue with what he claimed to be one-sided accounts from former soldiers in the film.
“We need to understand and we need to separate the story of the soldier and that of the IDF,” he said. “The IDF is a moral army, we believe in human rights. If a soldier does things that are not legal then you need to punish them.”
Barmoy staged his protest as one ex-soldier in the film appeared to suggest the IDF beat young children in Hebron. He said: “We don’t do things to harm or kill women or children or people not involved in terror.
“I can’t beat children. I do not know how to do this.”
Speaking calmly, Barmoy suggested some ex-IDF soldiers had turned to giving testimonies about past events in the military either out of guilt, or because they now wished to show a more liberal side, or to “build up prestige”.
In his new role as a shaliach (envoy) with the WZO, he said he represented all strands of Zionist thought from “the left to the right.. we have everything”.
Barmoy added: “But we will not represent lies and lying.”
The film Mission: Hebron was made in 2020 and was acclaimed by some media outlets including the New York Times. In it, six ex-soldiers share their accounts of day-to-day operations on the ground in Hebron, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank.
A Breaking the Silence spokesperson added: “The horrors of Oct 7 and the raging war in Gaza do not nullify the need to learn and discuss the reality of the ongoing military occupation in the West Bank.
“Now more than ever we need to openly discuss our vision for Israel’s future and promote a path to peace.
“In the spirit of Limmud we are happy a debate about the reality on the ground had started.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
