Dark Silhouettes At IDF Firing Range Prove Israel Targeting By Race

Minority advocacy group Adva demanded that the IDF at once begin using target silhouettes of a different color.

Somewhere near Beersheva, Negev Desert, September 16 – Black, humanoid paper shapes affixed to posts at this Israeli military facility serve to aid soldiers in practicing their aim, a phenomenon that activists cite as further evidence that the Jewish state trains its fighters to view all dark-skinned people as targets.

Prominent advocacy organizations such as Btselem, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch issued a statement Monday morning decrying the IDF’s use of dark silhouettes in target practice, calling it dehumanizing of people of color, in which category the same organizations group Palestinians of every complexion.

Firing ranges and field exercise courses across the country, where trainees, active duty soldiers, and reservists sharpen their weapons skills, feature dark, human-shaped pieces of paper of approximately life-size. A Btselem representative noted that no such units exist with lighter-colored silhouettes, indicating that the racist IDF views only dark figures as a threat.

“We have spent months visiting numerous IDF bases,” reported Dan Lekhafkhova of Btselem. “At every one, without exception, the target silhouettes at the firing ranges and other live-fire exercise facilities are black. Further evidence indicates that the IDF does not maintain non-black silhouettes anywhere in its inventory, which constitutes damning evidence of ingrained, institutional racism through all the ranks of the service.”

‘It is clear that to IDF trainers, and and of course the soldiers they oversee, internalize this racism attitude in the field,” added Vic Timhoud of Amnesty International. “Just look at the protests at the border with the Gaza Strip, where IDF troops have only targeted Palestinians.”

Minority advocacy group Adva demanded that the IDF at once begin using target silhouettes of a different color. “White would be perfect,” suggested a spokeswoman. “That way no one could complain about the racist overtones of the targets for at least an hour after the military spends money on the change. Only after suitable interval would we then raise objections, for example, that the shape of the target bears suspicious resemblance to Palestinians, who also have arms, a head, and a torso.”

“Wait, that’s actually a brilliant idea,” responded Mr. Lekhafkhova. “Can we launch that campaign right now? I’m texting our promotions director as we speak. This is going to be brilliant. Securing backing from the New Israel Fund should be a piece of cake. Oh, man, and Oxfam will eat this up. We get Amnesty and Human Rights Watch on board and this will go places – I can see this as our most successful campaign since Goldstone.”

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