Skip to main content

Israeli soldier Instagrams a photo of a child in sniper’s crosshair

IDF soldier child in crosshair instagramWhen the Israeli Defense Forces first joined Instagram last fall, the reaction was a mix between intrigue and terror. Some shots reveal very human aspects to the daily lives of these young soldiers photographing themselves just like your average teens would. In others, soldiers are at the firing line and ready for combat, invoking the reality of the situation abroad. Although the account has since been deleted, some Israeli soldiers maintained their own Instagram accounts – including one Mor Ostrovski, 20, who has sparked controversy after posting a disturbing photo of a child in a sniper’s crosshairs.

The original photo was posted late January but emerged last week on the pro-Palestinian news site Electronic Intifada. While there is no evidence that the child was shot or if Ostrovski even took the photo himself, a rightful public outrage has forced Ostrovski to delete his Instagram account. The IDF is also launching an investigation on the matter, noting that the photo “doesn’t accord with the IDF’s spirits and values.”

Organizations and news outlet around the globe has also criticized the picture, claiming it is “tasteless and dehumanizing.” Breaking the Silence, an Israeli non-governmental organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that raises awareness about life in the West Bank further condemned the image. “Technology and media have changed. The distribution of images has changed,” the organization wrote on its Facebook page. “But the exaggerated sense of power and the blatant disregard for human life and dignity have remained: this is what occupation looks like.”

Editors' Recommendations

Natt Garun
Former Digital Trends Contributor
An avid gadgets and Internet culture enthusiast, Natt Garun spends her days bringing you the funniest, coolest, and strangest…
No yolk! A photo of an egg has become the most-liked post on Instagram
a photo of an egg has become the most liked post on instagram

A news item involving eggs almost always features numerous puns that try to eggspress the story in a clever way. But it's overly easy to embark on such hennoying nonsense, and can be un oeuf to scramble a reader's brain. With that in mind, we'll do the right thing here and refrain from cracking any egg-related yolks.

So, on with the story. Yes, it's an about an egg. An egg that's become really popular on Instagram. In fact, in the space of just over a week, a photo of the aforementioned egg has become the most-liked post on the photo-sharing app, with more than 21 million people having so far hit the heart button to show their love for the oval-shaped object.

Read more
Hotel chain offers an Instagram ‘sitter’ who will post photos for you
hotel chain offers instagram sitter who will post photos for you

Relax we post. The new service by ibis Switzerland.

A new service offered by Ibis hotels in Switzerland appears to suggest that for some Instagrammers, the pressure to post amazing images on the social media site may be so huge that it's ruining their vacations.

Read more
Instagram says its A.I. can track down bullying in photos
how to use Instagram Stories

New head of Instagram Adam Mosseri has kicked off his tenure at the top of the company by doubling down on efforts to eradicate bullying on the site.

Instagram already has a number of systems in place that automatically spot hurtful behavior like nasty comments, and now it's turning to artificial intelligence to help it deal with images and captions that are used to bully people on the site.

Read more