Kesher Talk

Mutual backscratching . . . mmmmmnnnn that feels good . . . Bill Quick and Imshin send a little love my way. (Hey, I could get addicted to this. Somebody please remind me that I still need to find a job . . . ) Imshin reminds us not to pigeonhole Israeli Arabs. Several regular commentors on lgf have also made this point (scroll down for more).

There are many non-Jews in the IDF. My understanding is that all Israeli citizens must serve, except for Arab citizens, who may volunteer. They are not conscripted because, given the neighborhood, they might end up fighting friends and family. (This was also the policy in the US during WWII, to only send Nisei troops to the European theater.) One of the IDF MIAs is a Bedouin. Four Arab IDF soldiers were killed in a Palestinian attack on an Israeli army outpost 6 months ago, three of whom were Bedouin. These articles also describe their mixed feelings about serving in an army in a state where they still do not get the same social services as the Jewish majority, but where they can show their loyalty and advance professionally. It's kind of like African-Americans' relation to the US armed forces.

posted by Judith @ 8/26/2002 07:43:45 PM