On August 3, Shaiel Ben-Ephraim shared an interview on social media with two Israeli security officials involved in the Sde Teiman torture facility, which has become a cause célèbre for right-wing protesters demanding the right of Israelis to gang rape Palestinian prisoners with impunity. Ben-Ephraim is an academic who left UCLA as a post-doctorate following allegations of sexual harassment. He describes himself as “Israel analyst. Fighting for liberal democracy. Fanatic Mets fan. Host of Israel Explained and History of the Land of Israel.”
Ben-Ephraim describes his two sources, saying that “the IDF source is quite high up. The other source is not but works there every day.”
The “IDF source” says:
“The 100 unit has been assigned to guard the prisoners. Their job is supposed to be to intervene when there is disorder. They are rough people. So they are guarding the prisoners. You are letting animals guard animals without supervision and in nightmarish conditions.”
This is an interesting usage of the idea of “human animals,” a description first uttered during this genocide by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant on October 9, saying “we are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”
The interviewed security personnel provide the emotional rationale for the sadistic torture enacted upon the Palestinians, it is a hate crime geared toward revenge. The “facility source” says:
“Everyone who served in Gaza is full of hatred. They have an urge to release the animal in them. Anyone who is put in a room with those who raped their girlfriends or killed their friends without supervision – will get whatever we got.”
So they believe their girlfriends got raped or killed by Hamas. This doesn’t need any evidence as such, and it doesn’t matter whether those people whom they are torturing are involved in any way: