Avner Gvaryahu
Avner Gvaryahu (born 1983/1984) is the current executive director of the Israeli-based non-profit Breaking the Silence.
Early life and education[edit]
Gvaryahu was born to a religious, Zionist family.[1] He was raised in Rehovot, alongside his two brothers and two sisters.[1] He attended a yeshiva until grade 12, after which he volunteered with the Israeli Scouts for a year.[1][2]
After joining the Israeli Defense Forces in 2004, he served as a sergeant in the Orev unit of the paratroopers until 2007.[1][3] While serving in the IDF in Nablus and Jenin, Gvaryahu realized the negative effects of the IDF on Palestinian communities.[4][3][5][6] He later claimed that his commanders encouraged members of his battalion to kill, rather than arrest, targets.[3]
After serving in the IDF, Gvaryahu studied social work in Tel Aviv.[1][2]
Activism[edit]
Gvaryahu was working with Breaking the Silence by 2011.[2] At the time, he worked as a tour guide for the non-profit, showing visitors the impact of the occupation in the West Bank.[2]
By 2014, Gvaryahu was the non-profit's spokesperson.[7]
In 2018, Gvaryahu, by then the group's CEO, and three other members of Breaking the Silence leadership were detained by Israeli border police in Mitzpe Yair while leading a tour in the South Hebron Hills.[8][9]
Gvaryahu has spoken out against Israeli military campaigns in the occupied territories, such as raids on the West Bank's Jenin refugee camp.[10] He has clarified that although he believes Israel has a right to self-defense, he does not believe current military activity in the occupied territories constitutes self-defense.[11]
Personal life[edit]
In 2016, Gvaryahu became a target in a campaign by Im Tirzu, which accused him of being planted by a foreign government.[1]
Gvaryahu and his wife, who works as a journalist, live in Tel Aviv.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Shohat, Yehuda (2016-01-21). "'I'm breaking the silence because I'm Zionist, Israeli and a patriot'". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ a b c d "Breaking the silence: Israeli soldiers with a tale to tell". New Internationalist. 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ a b c Beaumont, Peter (2014-06-08). "Stories from an occupation: the Israelis who broke silence". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Israeli Soldiers Break Silence With Tales of West Bank Occupation". NBC News. 2014-06-07. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Hidden Brain | Tribes & Traitors: What Happens When You Empathize with the Enemy?". NPR. March 6, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
- ^ "Ex-Israel soldier: I helped entrench the occupation". Middle East Monitor. February 19, 2018.
- ^ Sheizaf, Noam (2014-04-03). "Breaking the Silence founder detained in Hebron, banned from city for 14 days". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Noy, Orly (2018-08-31). "IDF detains South Hebron Hills tour organizers, days after settler attack there". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Kimon, Elisha Ben (2018-08-31). "Breaking the Silence CEO detained in Mitzpe Yair". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Former Israeli soldier says Israel is making everyone less safe". MSNBC.com. July 8, 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Hall, Matthew (2018-05-30). "'Don't be afraid to shoot': a former Israeli soldier's account of Gaza". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Gessen, Masha (2023-10-13). "The Tangled Grief of Israel's Anti-Occupation Activists". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-10-16.