Fly Little One

November 26, 2009 - 8:59 PM by Brian Blum

Amir Swearing In Our 18-year-old son Amir graduated from basic training this week. After what he described as an “enjoyable” experience, he and the other new recruits gathered in a large open area on the army base in the center of the country where they had just learned how to salute, obey orders and fire laser-powered rifles.

There were about a hundred soldiers split into two groups. They stood at attention, mostly listening to speeches, as their parents and siblings waited in the nearby bleachers for the moment the cadets would swear their allegiance to the army and to their country.

Amir is our oldest child, so this was our first time at such a ceremony and we weren’t sure what to expect. Most of my images of the army are from American movies and television: lots of pomp and circumstance, stony faces, and forced bravado.

There was certainly that element at Amir’s swearing in ceremony, but there was also a playfulness. When the soldiers finally got to the big moment, their commanding officers (all women) punched many of them in the arms, the closest you can get to a public hug in the army, I guess.

The format for the swearing was classically Israeli. In one hand, the soldiers held a gun, in the other a Bible.

The part of the ceremony that surprised me most, though, was the music. I was expecting reverent silence or maybe a brass band. Instead, pre-recorded Israeli pop songs played over the loudspeakers.

When it was Amir’s turn, Shlomo Artzi’s version of the Arik Einstein song “Uf Gozal” (Fly Little One) a modern Hebrew rock standard which speaks of a little bird leaving the nest (how appropriate, right?) blared. My wife Jody was crying; I was manning the video camera so I had to hold it together.

(As a side note: today was also Shlomo Artzi’s 60th birthday and the radio had been playing the Israeli crooner’s songs all day.)

Now Amir is off to his post-basic training regular army position. What will he be doing? He can’t say – really – and we’re not allowed to ask. So other than his green uniform, today’s ceremony may be the last we see of the army for the next three years.

Share with others