Breaking the Silence consists of ex-soldiers-turned-whistleblowers who view the subjugation of Palestinians as an existential threat to Israel

Former Israeli combat soldiers who were thrust into the centre of a recent diplomatic row between Israel and Germany, say the sudden international spotlight has given them a bigger stage to speak out against Israel’s 50-year rule over millions of Palestinians.

Breaking the Silence is a group of former soldiers-turned-whistleblowers who view Israel’s open-ended occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state as an existential threat to their country.

Since 2004, the group has collected testimony from more than 1,100 fellow soldiers who describe the dark side of that rule, including seemingly routine mistreatment of Palestinian civilians stripped of basic rights. The veterans hope such accounts by former fighters will carry weight and spark public debate about the moral price of the occupation.

Group of ‘subversives’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top officials in his nationalist government have a starkly different view. They have branded Breaking the Silence as foreign-funded subversives who are trying to defame Israel and its military.

Most recently, Mr. Netanyahu even seemed willing to rattle Israel’s relationship with key European ally Germany to score points against Breaking the Silence, which has 16 paid staffers, several dozen volunteers and an annual budget of about $2 million.

Two weeks ago, he said he would not receive German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel if the visitor stuck to plans to meet with Breaking the Silence. Mr. Gabriel chose the soldiers instead. Mr. Netanyahu, who also serves as Foreign Minister, said that shunning visitors who meet with Breaking the Silence is now official policy.

The fallout continues this week. The dispute has cast a shadow over what would otherwise have been a routine Israel visit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Media reports suggest Mr. Steinmeier will praise the group during a speech on Sunday, but not meet with its representatives to avoid another spat with Mr. Netanyahu.

Yehuda Shaul, a co-founder of Breaking the Silence, said the recent attention has been a mixed blessing. The focus on the diplomatic dust-up “diverts a lot of attention from the real issue, what goes on in the occupied territories,” he said in an interview at the group’s office, tucked away in an old walk-up in a grubby industrial area of Tel Aviv.

“On the other hand, it gives us more stages to speak about it,” said Mr. Shaul, citing more media attention and public speaking invitations that draw larger audiences.

Bitterly divided

Israelis have been bitterly divided over what to do with the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands they captured in June 1967.

Many Israelis support the idea of Palestinian statehood in principle, but believe it’s not safe to cede war-won territories now. Fears were stoked by three Israel-Hamas wars since 2008 and an escalation of regional conflicts.

Meanwhile, partition is increasingly difficult, with 600,000 Israelis already living on occupied lands and settlements expanding steadily.

Mr. Shaul said he and his comrades are the true patriots, not those clinging to occupied territories. “I believe Jews have a right to self-determination in the Holy Land. But I refuse to accept that the only way I will be allowed to implement my right to self-determination is if I strip my neighbours, the Palestinians, of the exact same right I demand for myself,” he said. “A permanent occupation is the most anti-Zionist position one can ever have because it says we are doomed to live in a sin.”