Word From Yerushalaimsimantov@wordfromyerushalaim.
www.wordfromyerushalaim.com
www.wordfromyerushalaim.com
First Female Arab Soldier proud to serve in IDF
Cpl. Elinor Joseph recently became the first Arab female combat soldier in the IDF, serving in the Karakal Battalion.
She is a Christian Arab from Haifa, the daughter of an IDF Paratrooper who did not think she would ever enlist. “I wanted to go abroad to study medicine and never come back,” she said. “I was scared to lose my friends because they objected to it. They told me they wouldn’t speak to me. I was left alone.” But despite opposition from her friends she joined. “I I understood that it was most important to defend my friends, family, and country. I was born here. There was a Katyusha [rocket] that fell near my house and also hurt Arabs. If someone would tell me that serving in the IDF means killing Arabs, I remind them that Arabs also kill Arabs…. I know I am part of the Jewish state’s army and therefore when we speak about that I listen and learn. I got used to it and I respect it, although I do not delve too much into the country’s identity – I have my own identity and I will respect that of the country. At the end of the day, this will always be my home too.”
She is a Christian Arab from Haifa, the daughter of an IDF Paratrooper who did not think she would ever enlist. “I wanted to go abroad to study medicine and never come back,” she said. “I was scared to lose my friends because they objected to it. They told me they wouldn’t speak to me. I was left alone.” But despite opposition from her friends she joined. “I I understood that it was most important to defend my friends, family, and country. I was born here. There was a Katyusha [rocket] that fell near my house and also hurt Arabs. If someone would tell me that serving in the IDF means killing Arabs, I remind them that Arabs also kill Arabs…. I know I am part of the Jewish state’s army and therefore when we speak about that I listen and learn. I got used to it and I respect it, although I do not delve too much into the country’s identity – I have my own identity and I will respect that of the country. At the end of the day, this will always be my home too.”
To subscribe send an email to simantov@wordfromyerushalaim.
No comments:
Post a Comment