Answers to Commissioner Chris Sidoti's Questions at the UN

I watched the press conference held at the United Nations in Geneva, where you posed three difficult questions to the Israeli public. I wish to answer them—not on behalf of the Government of Israel, not on behalf of the IDF, but as an Israeli citizen, a former soldier, and a political activist. These are difficult questions. Questions that also pain me as an Israeli citizen. I do not seek to evade them but to answer them honestly.

1.      WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE YOUR SOLDIERS WHO ALLOW A 14-YEAR-OLD CHILD TO BLEED TO DEATH FOR A 45-MINUTE PERIOD?
2.      WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE YOUR MILITARY LEADERS THAT WOULD INCULCATE A CULTURE WHERE SOLDIERS FEEL FREE TO DO THIS, ACTING WITH TOTAL IMPUNITY?
3.      WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE ARE YOUR LEADERS WHEN THEY GIVE ORDERS, WHEN THEY MAKE STATEMENTS THAT ENCOURAGE THIS KIND OF CONDUCT? NOT MERELY PERMIT IT, BUT ENCOURAGE IT?

What kind of people are your soldiers who allow a 14-year-old child to bleed to death for 45 minutes?

I want to note that I too was a soldier, serving from 2007 to 2010 in mandatory service. I was in the Paratroopers, in Battalion 101, under the command of Avi Blot (currently commander of Central Command, responsible for Judea and Samaria), and effectively under the command of the brigade commander Herzl Halevi at the time.

I wish to present to you here the letter I wrote to the Central Command commander on November 12, 2025:

Dear Avi,

I write to you with a heavy heart, after two years of losing the way, losing composure, breaking tools, and above all losing faith and unity that this people once had.
The situation in Judea and Samaria is terrible; the people of Israel are disgraced before all nations by the barbaric behavior of our people towards the helpless, poor people, farmers, living in shacks, sometimes without basic nutrition or minimal security, at the mercy of senseless rioters.

I implore you with all my heart—stop this.

These acts pose a real danger, igniting jealousy and bloodshed, and present the law enforcement and military authorities as their enablers, stripping away every shred of legitimacy that the law authorities still had, and the respect that perhaps some of the local residents had for the army is disappearing; we must not push away their fear and awe of power.

It is written, 'If there is no fear of authority, a man will swallow his fellow alive.' Authority and law must be firm in every corner and place where there is any form of political control. The human heart’s inclination is evil from youth, and undermining authority begins right here, and worse if it is your own people.

With a full mouth, I can assure you that if I were a soldier or had authority in Judea and Samaria, I would not be able to stand aside—I would do all I could to protect the weak from the strong. You are in a position and have responsibility not only towards your own people but towards all who live under military rule for basic protection and security. This is not by virtue of the law but from the basic decency of a God-fearing person.

The great forcefulness, barbarism, and cruelty are not characteristics of the Jewish people, and here we are tested when we have power yet still lift our hands to the One God.

I am very glad for the return of Hadar Goldin, and may salvation come from Zion to Israel when the Lord returns His people. I hope the logic of my heart will work before you and those above you—I know that they are the main stumbling block.

Sincerely,
Nachliel Shilo

In this letter, written many months before the event you spoke of, you will find in my view the answer to your first two questions.

• Who are the soldiers?
• And who are the commanders who allowed such a culture to grow?

Nevertheless, with your permission, I wish to add one reservation.

A person is a person is a person; in Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Japan, the United States, and everywhere else. With all their good and bad qualities. Human beings are capable of compassion beyond measure, and also capable of cruelty beyond measure. The great question is what kind of leadership, culture, and system shape them. Therefore, although I believe your questions are correct and the guilt they imply cries out to the heavens, I wish to specifically qualify the first two questions.

Allow me to apologize, for there is a basic and inherent misunderstanding here about all types of humans as they are—the behavior of a person is the result of the framework, leadership, education, and cultural and organizational pressures in which the person lives and acts. Very few people have the insight and ability to free themselves from the bonds of society, and moreover to act courageously against the society that supports and sustains them.

Commanders are also soldiers.

In the army, as clichéd as it may sound, even the highest-ranking commanders are soldiers. And they are even more under human constraints, ideals, examples, expectations, and financial, social, and personal pressures—yes, even when facing the worst. This is not new to us, and history proves this again and again, regardless of the culture and values in which we were raised. From this we learn that those who could stand against the spirit of society can also lead and change it, and these are among the few of the few.

What kind of people are your leaders, who when they give orders or make statements, encourage such behavior—not merely permitting it, but truly encouraging it?

To answer you on this question, I want to ask you first: where is leadership in the world?

Have you ever considered the question of what kind of world we live in and how we got here? Who brings and who takes away? Who leads human culture? Who gave man eyes to see and a heart to understand?

In a godless world—leadership does not exist. What remains is an empty shell and a jumble of words: "democracy," "culture," "values," "freedom," "equality," "love"...

What kind of leaders enable barbaric killing in this century, in which over half a million people have been killed on Ukrainian soil?

How many soldiers there bled to death for hours and even days, with no help?!
And do they not deserve mercy?
Are they not God’s children? What is the profit and gain in this blood? Lawlessness!

In a world where the command of the heart is missing, a deep abyss remains in the hearts of the world’s leaders, filled with selfish and inconsiderate pursuit of honor and power. Your criticism is sharp and accurate—but it points above all to a fundamental deficiency that exists not only here in Israel but throughout the world—fatherlessness.

I have harsh criticism of the criminal leadership in Israel, but it is not only the leadership; the circle of chaos feeds itself more and more: the media covering up the disgrace, officers without any resourcefulness raised in a military culture of covering for each other, the civilian leadership managed in fear, and Israeli politics saturated with divisions, selfishness, and a great lack of respect for human dignity and the honor of God.

And if you ask what this leaves us with?

It leaves a wasteland... and if there is one consolation in all the destruction we see, it is this: sometimes only after the land has been completely devastated can it be sown anew. Perhaps from this very wasteland Righteousness and Justice and healing will still grow under its wings for all peoples.

Nachliel Shilo

Voice of Truth and Peace