Israelis who served in the Israel Defense Forces and want to emigrate to the United States are being questioned about their military service to determine whether they may have committed war crimes, according to a new report circulating in Israel.
Ynet News reports that a senior executive at a Silicon Valley technology company, identified only as Yuval, has been questioned in a letter by the US immigration authority, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, about his service in the Israel Defense Forces.
“You must submit an affidavit describing your military service,” Ynet News reported. “In this affidavit, you must answer the following questions: Did you take part in combat as a combatant during your military service? If so, please describe your activities and role in that combat.”
The letter continued: “Have you ever led soldiers in the military? If so, please describe what that entailed? Have you ever provided (or ordered others to provide) guard duty to a detainee? Have you used explosives during your military service? If so, please give details of the types of weapons and explosives you were trained with.”
The letter also included additional questions about whether Yuval may have encountered an explosive device and the circumstances under which that experience occurred.
While it is common for those who have served in a foreign military to be asked about their time in the foreign military on green card applications and other visa-related applications, Yuval told Ynet News he was “shocked” by the questions about his military service.
Liam Schwartz, a lawyer at Tel Aviv-based law firm Goldfarb Seligman, told Ynet News that the questions about explosives were “to find out whether war crimes have been committed.”
“Questions about the detainees’ custody are intended to ‘catch’ military and police personnel involved in arrests in the West Bank,” Schwartz said. “The request for information about whether they actively participated in hostilities as combatants could also be used to solidify the authorities’ position on acts defined as genocide.”
Schwartz called the questions “deeply disturbing and could have far-reaching implications for Israelis moving for work, obtaining degrees, and family reunification.”
