Danette is a 25 year old Israeli. When I meet her she is assembling a fancy dress costume for the Jewish holiday of Purim. She believes in peace, she hasn’t much time for her government, but doesn’t see what she can do to change anything. She’s someone you wouldn’t expect to be have been a soldier, but like the majority of her peers, she was.
When I ask Danette about her service she is positive, she enjoyed it, met some great people; had a lot of fun. She served on the border with Jordan in the south of Israel, a low intensity posting, away from the occupation. One of her memories is sharing some cantaloupes (a fruit) with Jordanian soldiers patrolling their own border.
Israel is a highly militarised society. Its occupation of the West Bank and blockade of the Gaza strip demand a high number of soldiers. In the West Bank, there is one fully armed, state sponsored enforcer for every 13 Palestinian civilians in the area. Most West Bank soldiers are conscripts who were plucked from Israeli schools. Conscription is the norm in Israel. You can go to prison for refusing to join the army at 18. The length of service is 3 years for males and 2 for females. Inside Israel itself it is impossible to travel anywhere without seeing groups of uniformed teenagers with assault rifles strapped on their backs. Catching a bus, getting a coffee; they are everywhere, whether off or on duty they are compelled to carry the gun. They are a constant reminder that Israel is a place at war; without them, in most of Israel proper, you could easily forget.
I talk to “Noam” over a drink. He is 30 years old and a fitness fanatic. He served his 3 years and then was called back for offensive military operations in the Lebanon in 2006, and again in Gaza in 2008/9, where he was part of the ground forces that “cleansed” residential areas during Operation Cast Lead. When he talks about his service, he does so with pride, but he is also equally candid about the legal and social pressures young people face about doing their service. You can get out of it he says, but it’s frowned upon, you get abused, ostracised, even the girls. You can try to say you are not mentally capable, but this will have other consequences; like affecting the type of mortgage you can get in the future; “besides,” he says with a smile; “there are plenty of crazy people in the army”.
The conversation gets difficult when he talks about losing two of his best friends to “terrorists”. One of them was shot in the head beside him in Lebanon in 2006. The memory of it causes tears to come to his eyes. He never asked for it, true he volunteered to go back, but he didn’t think he’d lose his friends, not like that.
The organisation New Profile was formed by Ruth Hiller in response to her 15 year old son telling her he was a pacifist who would not serve. New Profile seeks to support parents who do not wish to see their children become soldiers and provides information on how every part of Israeli society is geared towards creating soldiers who are prepared to do the harsh things that the occupation often requires. New Profile is one of several organisations who represent those within Israeli society who are beginning to doubt the logic of trying to make peace while being constantly primed for war. They are conscious of the harm they may be doing not only to the millions of Palestinians who have their rights and dignity systematically eroded by a military occupation, but also to their own country, Israel.
New Profile organisation is banned from schools, but this is hardly surprising. The Israeli education system is very military friendly. It has a final year which is completely devoted to matriculation, soldiers give demonstrations in schools for kindergarten upwards, playgrounds contain canon relics to familiarise children Israel’s militaristic past, the curriculum is full of military imagery (including pictures of war planes and rifles in counting books for 3 year olds alongside flags, Star of David symbols and doves); schools are encouraged to identify students who “lack motivation” who are then given “pep talks” by visiting soldiers.
Ruth presents a stark picture of a system which seems to brainwash students into unquestioningly taking up the gun when they leave. In addition, because full time soldiers retire at 42 with a full pension, many become teachers, sharing their experience with a new generation of young minds.
It is not only in schools where the indoctrination takes place. Popular youth culture treats military service as a coming of age experience. Corporate and media influences also reinforce military priorities; soldiers get special saving schemes with banks. Advertisements aimed at the mothers of soldiers sell everything from baking dough to anti-depressants.
To view New Profiles Exibition of the Militarization of Israeli Society, follow the below link:While the positive things about military service are talked about openly; the trauma young people suffer is often suppressed. “Breaking the Silence” is an organization of ex soldiers who encourage people to talk about their experiences, pushing Israeli society to “face the reality whose creation it has enabled.”
Breaking the Silence appeals to a society whose “sense of justice has been deformed”. It has so far garnered over 700 testimonies from former soldiers, a small number relative to the number who have served, but a good start. According to Mikhail who works for the organisation “the first thing a soldier will say when approached is ‘I don’t really have anything to say’, then the floodgates open”.
The intervention of Breaking the Silence is timely. The Israeli army loses 30-40 young lives per year to suicide. The easy access to guns; the normal stresses and strains of teenage life combined with being asked to perform a role which nobody should be forced to do mean the Israeli army loses more people to suicide than in combat, even in times of war.
In the occupied West Bank, the dehumanising effect the army has on ordinary Palestinians is plain to see; what is less immediately obvious is the dehumanising effect that service has on Israelis. It is a massive sacrifice the children of Israel and their families are expected to make. I think of “Noam” hunched over his soda water after we finish speaking, staring glassily into space, thinking about his dead friends and the choices he didn’t have. I hope he finds peace. For Israel, the hope for peace seems futile against the reality of a society so constantly ready for war.
I work for Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) as an ecumenical accompanier serving on the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The views contained in this email are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer (QPSW) or the World Council of Churches. If you would like to publish the information contained here (including posting it on a website), or distribute it further, please first contact the QPSW Programme Manager for I–oPt teresap@quaker.org.uk for permission.
http://www.newprofile.org/images/exhibition/exhibition-extracts-english.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment