Accepting responsibility for Israel’s security

June 20, 2010 - 8:29 AM by

Adjusting the new berets for the Karkal graduates

It was a little ironic that on the day my daughter was ‘graduating’ from her six-month basic training to become a full-fledged soldier in the Karkal unit which patrols Israel’s border with Egypt, the news on the radio was reporting an incident on the border in which Karkal snipers killed an armed infiltrator and wounded several others at the border.

“Oh, great,” I thought, this is what she’s going to be doing now, as the asimon fell and reached my brain for the first time, filling it with a mixture of pride and trepidation.

Later, during the short, moving ceremony at the Nahal Memorial near Pardes Hanna, the commander of the brigade referred to the incident when describing the responsibilities the graduates were about to take on.

When he said that a unit on patrol had killed an armed terrorist attempting to infiltrate, the gathering of parents of family applauded.
At first it seemed somewhat awkward and inappropriate to me, to be clapping for someone else’s demise – even if they were setting out to likely commit murder themselves.

But, as I reflected on it, I realized that it hadn’t been a bloodthirsty venomous ovation, but sort of a muted, reluctant show of recognition that this kind of job has to be done and our children are the ones who have chosen to do it.

The cheers from the crowd when the ceremony ended and the one-time recruits threw their brand new green berets in the air were much more lusty and heartfelt. As long as that order of moral clarity exists – where achievement and initiative takes precedent over killing, gloating and destruction, our society, for all its faults, isn’t doing too badly.

In the paper the next day, we read that that ‘terrorists’ shot at the border had actually been armed Beduin drug smugglers. It only contributed to the notion that my daughter’s job for the next couple years is not going to be an easy one – not for her physical stamina nor for her moral compass.

Tags: , , , , , • Category: A New Reality, coexistence, Crime, General, Israeliness, Life, War 

Comments

One Comment on Accepting responsibility for Israel’s security

  1. David-Joe on Sun, Jun 20th 2010 4:42 PM

    2. Your comments make for interesting and curious reading.

    I was born and raised on a kibbutz. Going into the army and trying out for a combat unit was a natural thing.

    Nobody considered killing the enemy or someone trying to infiltrate the meshek from Jordan to be anything but morally a good thing. And when Arik Sharon with his guys would go out and get them, we just loved them – the more enemy they killed the better and they eradicated many of those vermin.

    Nobody ever had issues and from your self-doubt I suspect you are an American.

Leave a Comment





© 2012 ISRAELITY | Sitemap