IDF Soldiers' Back-Turned Portraits as Counterportraiture and Concealment

The article analyzes official portraits of Israeli soldiers with their backs to the camera, arguing that this pose functions as a form of concealment to avoid identification and prosecution for war crimes in occupied Palestinian territories. The author links this to broader surveillance technologies, such as facial recognition software used by the IDF to harass Palestinians, and notes that similar technologies have migrated into civilian life via smart glasses that breach privacy. The piece discusses how counterportraiture—portraits that hide rather than reveal the subject—turns soldiers into a faceless mass of oppressors, contrasting with traditional portraiture that invites intimate contact. The author draws parallels to images from American ICE detention facilities in El Salvador and masked police officers at protests, where detainees are exposed while agents remain hidden. The essay concludes that confronting the Israeli military's violence requires it to face its own image.