There’s no point in trying to argue with Yair Lapid over his inflammatory statements against Breaking the Silence. The Yesh Atid leader is merely proving that incitement and populism are his primary work tools. After exhausting his aggression against the ultra-Orthodox and losing 40 percent of his seats in the last election, Lapid has found a new enemy – the army veterans’ group that collects and publishes anonymous statements from soldiers serving in the territories.

Over the weekend Lapid wrote, “Here’s more proof that some on the Israeli left have completely lost it. Every year the Kibbutz Movement holds an event attended by hundreds of teenagers. This year they decided to invite ... the people from Breaking the Silence, who go around the world with foreign sponsorship to bad-mouth the State of Israel using anonymous testimonies.”

Instead of unequivocally denouncing Lapid’s incitement, representatives of the Kibbutz Movement explained that they had invited groups from across the political spectrum, and that it was “sorry to see a politician in Israel making cynical use of partial, inexact information that has been taken out of context.”

The movement’s response is no less worrisome than Lapid’s incitement. It implies that there’s something forbidden or obscene in inviting representatives of Breaking the Silence. The apologetic and fearful tone typifies Israel’s center-left (other than Meretz), which has abandoned Breaking the Silence to incitement and delegitimization – something that has increased since May, when the group published its testimonies from last summer’s Operation Protective Edge.

Participants in this delegitimization campaign include broadcaster Avri Gilad, who accused the group of being responsible for soldiers’ deaths; Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, who asked the Israeli Embassy in Switzerland to lobby the local government there against funding a Breaking the Silence exhibit; Education Minister Naftali Bennett; and now Lapid, the latest spokesman for the nationalist right.

Open gallery view Photographs depicting humiliation of Palestinian detainees by soldiers. The photos were published Tuesday by Breaking the Silence. Credit: Breaking the Silence

Breaking the Silence is a legitimate organization. In a democratic country, its activities should be encouraged, not silenced. It is seemingly one of the few groups that views the Israel Defense Forces’ morality as a priority. The information the organization publicizes isn’t meant to embarrass Israel but to maintain its moral character, which is being eroded by the occupation. Channel 10’s military correspondent, Or Heller, reported last month that following the report issued by Breaking the Silence, the IDF opened eight investigations into events during last summer’s war in Gaza, which could indicate the importance the IDF ascribes to its information. The alternative to its activity is probes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The opposition’s silence in light of the attacks on Breaking the Silence reflects the ideological collapse of Zionist Union. Instead of being afraid of public opinion, one should fight to change it. Breaking the Silence is vital to Israel.