An Israeli journalist prepares to fight ...

[Violet_Crumble]

Among the thousands of reservists regularly called up to serve in Israel's army was one journalist, musician, and writer. David Bender was more than willing to heed the call of his troubled nation. In this poignant and revealing account, he offers a glimpse of the daily life of an Israeli soldier.

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The call comes at 1:30 am Thursday morning. I shuffle out of bed and answer the ringing cellphone. “Is this David Bender?” the young female voice on the other end of the line asks brusquely. “Yes”, I reply, amid growing awareness that this is my army reserve unit’s liaison office. My concern rises to the surface. “This is a tzav-8 call-up. You need to arrive at the base by 9:00 am”, she says, asking if I understand the instructions and other pertinent details.

<snip>

That night, while in classrooms studying bed sheet-sized aerial area photographs, we receive initial mission assignments. Our battalion commander assembles the by now weary troops beneath a streetlamp, just before lights out, and sums up our preparations. He prides us on our show-rate, speed of arrival and organisation, and our willingness to take up arms for the nation’s defence.

There are no big words about glory and battlefield valour. Instead, a quiet man responsible for the life and death of soldiers under his command and the Palestinian civilians they are to encounter, talks about the Biblical concept of “purity of arms”, and the Israeli army’s code of battlefield ethics. “I don’t want to hear about anyone slapping around handcuffed and blindfolded prisoners,” he warns us. He then asks if any soldier is uncertain of his willingness to carry out the mission and go into combat.

<snip>

“The Arab grown-ups have no lev (heart): they put their children, instead of themselves, out in front of soldiers”, Shayna observed the other evening, as I spoke with her about the complex security situation. “Why does the whole world hate the Israelis?” she asked, uncomprehending of the twisted forces adults in this part of the world deal with on a daily basis. On another occasion, on an evening drive with Pria, she turned to me after listening to the radio newscast: “Abba, How long will this go on? I mean the terrorists…will it last as long as the shoah (Holocaust)?” Tough question from an eight-and-a-half year-old.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-2-97-1480.jsp