VOA标准英语2010年-Israeli Soldier's Facebook Photos Spar

A handout¹ picture from Israeli human rights organization Breaking the Silence, 18 Aug 2010, shows an undated photograph of an Israeli soldier posing near a handcuffed and blindfolded² Palestinian detainee at an undisclosed location

A former Israeli soldier is defending herself against charges of insensitivity after posting pictures of her posing with handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainees on the popular social networking site Facebook. Eden Abergil, who has completed her service and is out of the army, says she did nothing wrong and did not intend to offend anyone.

 

The photos were posted on Abergil's page under the heading the IDF (Israeli Defense³ Forces): the best years of my life.  In one photo Abergil is shown sitting next to a bound and blindfolded man who is leaning against a cement wall.  In another photo, she is smiling while sitting in front of three bound and blindfolded men.

The photos were taken in Gaza in 2008 and Abergil said in an interview that they were thoughtless and innocent.  She told Israel radio that she did not humiliate⁴ the detainees.  The former IDF soldier said the photos are in no way similar to photos taken at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, where U.S. soldiers were shown with Iraqi prisoners in humiliating poses.

The Israeli Army has condemned⁶ Abergil for posting the photos.  Barak Raz, an IDF spokesman, says, "The IDF strongly condemns⁷ these disgraceful photos, they in no way reflect the spirit of the IDF, our ethical⁸ standard to which we all aspire⁹."

Raz said those standards guide members of the IDF from the time they are drafted in basic training, "they're posted on every single office wall, these are our guidelines, that is IDF policy, the spirit of the IDF and not these shameful¹⁰ photos that were posted by a released soldier who if she were on active duty I would imagine that she would be court-martialed right away."

A pro-Palestinian Israeli group called Breaking the Silence says the photos reflect a norm throughout the army that is a result of military rule over a civilian¹¹ population over a long time.

On its Internet site, Breaking the Silence says it collects testimonies¹² of soldiers who served in the West Bank and discusses cases of abuse of Palestinians.  The organization posts video testimonials from former soldiers and photographs taken during the conflict.

Ishai Menuchin is the Executive Director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.  He told Reuters News Agency that the situation is a symptom of a larger problem, "The problem is that they condemn⁵ her [Eden Abergil], but they need to work and educate these soldiers that Palestinians are civilians¹³ with human rights and they should treat them as human beings, not as a background for a pose."

Palestinian groups said the images are "humiliating," and "show the mentality¹⁴ of the occupier."

A Facebook spokesman replied to our question by e-mail saying that the website takes its Statement of Responsibilities seriously and would react quickly to remove content that violates that statement.  In its bylaws, the social media website says users agree they will not post content or take any action on Facebook that infringes¹⁵ or violates someone else's rights or otherwise violates the law.

Facebook also has users agree not to post content that is hateful, threatening or pornographic; incites¹⁷ violence; or contains nudity or graphic¹⁶ or gratuitous¹⁸ violence.

Whether those rules apply in this case is a matter of debate.  Eden Abergil has since removed the photos from her Facebook page, but the photos can be viewed on the Internet on various news websites and blogs.

1 handout   

n.散发的文字材料；救济品

参考例句：

• I read the handout carefully.我仔细看了这份分发的资料。
• His job was distributing handout at the street-corner.他的工作是在街头发传单。

2 blindfolded   

v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗

参考例句：

• The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
• They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 humiliate   

v.使羞辱，使丢脸[同]disgrace

参考例句：

• What right had they to bully and humiliate people like this?凭什么把人欺侮到这个地步呢？
• They pay me empty compliments which only humiliate me.他们虚情假意地恭维我，这只能使我感到羞辱。

5 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

9 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

10 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 testimonies   

（法庭上证人的）证词( testimony的名词复数 )； 证明，证据

参考例句：

• Davie poured forth his eloquence upon the controversies and testimonies of the day. 戴维向他滔滔不绝地谈那些当时有争论的问题和上帝的箴言。
• Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. 22求你除掉我所受的羞辱和藐视，因我遵守你的法度。

13 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

14 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

15 infringes   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的第三人称单数 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Congressmen may be reluctant to vote for legislation that infringes the traditional prerogatives of the states. 美国国会议员可能不情愿投票拥护侵犯各州传统特权的立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• I can't say whether CP21 infringes it or not. 我就不能说CP21是否侵犯了SPOT的专利。 来自企业管理英语口语（第二版）(2)

16 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

17 incites   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In all countries any person who incites others to insurrection is guilty of treason. 在任何国家里，煽动他人谋反者，都属犯叛国罪。
• The success of the handicapped man incites us to pursue our dreams. 这位残疾人的成功激励我们追求自己的梦想。

18 gratuitous   

adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的

参考例句：

• His criticism is quite gratuitous.他的批评完全没有根据。
• There's too much crime and gratuitous violence on TV.电视里充斥着犯罪和无端的暴力。