Unusual IDF Soldiers

IDF soldiers are normally unfriendly. Every attempt I made to talk with them had been been met with silence or monosyllable response and a sour look.

But these ones were different. Was it a change in policy? Or was it simply different soldiers and personalities? Or was it because these soldiers had seen me being angrily rebuffed by a Palestinian woman when I asked to take her photo as she sat on the pavement with grape leaves for sale??

Whatever the reason, these two soldiers were abnormally open and talkative. One soldier is the son of parents from the Ukraine. He follows international politics and is sorry that Bush's popularity is so low in the USA. "Bush is a good man." But now that Bush is on his way out, who will become President? The soldier asked me who I thought and then suggested his own guess: Hilary Clinton. He thinks this is fine: "Hilary will be good for Israel."

I asked the soldier what he thinks about the situation in Jerusalem. "Its calm on the surface but just below the surface it's not calm at all." The IDF needs a heavy presence to keep a lid on things. I suggested that the tension and lack of calm is because of injustice against the Palestinians. He disagreed and thinks the problem is Muslims against the West. He thinks there should be one world religion.

I was curious about the other soldier and asked his background since he was clearly not European. His family immigrated to Israel from India. He is Jewish by religion. It seems there are many immigrants to Israel from India as well as Ethiopia .... they reside especially in southern towns and cities such as Beersheba.

This made me think about something else I had heard. Apparently many of the Russian immigrants (who are now 20% of the entire population!) are not Jewish - they have come to Israel to better themselves economically. In its desire to expand the non-Arab population the rules about Jewish entitlement have been lax. This has provoked all sorts of controversy. There are reports that all it takes is one easily forged document claiming a Jewish grandmother to have entitlement to Israeli citizenship and a host of privileges. Many of the Russian immigrants retain their Russian Christian Orthodox beliefs, and its hard to see the Jewish ethnicity in the blue eyes and straight blonde hair.

Note the weapons in the photo. All Israeli soldiers carry these American M-16s. I asked why they don't use Israeli made Uzi submachine guns. They said that the Uzi's are not appropriate for crowded Jerusalem. "We would be killing everybody in the area if we started firing Uzi's."

Serving in the IDF is a melting pot for the Israelis. Certainly there is a heavy pro-Israel and pro- Zionist education involved. Certainly it puts the soldiers on the side of the occupiers. That is why it is so important that some soldiers and officers are speaking out against the Occupation. That is why it is so important that Israelis are involved in the non violent demonstrations against the Wall and speak to the soldiers in Hebrew and as fellow Israelis.

People need to persuade the soldiers that the conflict is not Israeli vs Palestinian or Jewish vs Muslim. The issue is justice vs injustice. Although these soldiers would not agree, I sensed they at least had open minds.