To Idan, a member of the Israeli Defense Forces, living in Israel is similar to living in the U.S.
They are alike, but growing up in Israel can be like living in a bad neighborhood because of the tensions in the region, he said.
But there’s one big difference: All Israeli citizens are required to serve in the IDF starting at age 18. Women serve until age 20, unless they opt for a longer time period. For men, the required service time stops at age 21.
On Feb. 15, Students Supporting Israel at MU held their second Israeli Soldiers’ Stories event, featuring Sagie and Idan, both members of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Sagie and Idan did not release their last names in order to protect their families.
“Most people criticizing Israel have never even been to Israel,” SSI Vice President Hannah Turner said. “It’s nice to have the perspective of someone who’s been there.”
Both members of the IDF that spoke in Stotler Lounge, however, have opted to serve their country for a longer period of time. Now 27 and 29, respectively, Sagie and Idan have both been through officer training and say they have learned many things throughout their time in service.
“The military is a really important part of Israeli culture, because all citizens are required to serve,” said Chantelle Moghadam, president and co-founder of SSI. “It is unique in that way because of the bonds they form. Everyone talks about what they did in the military.”
Both men spoke of conflicts in the Middle East such as the Second Intifada, which is the second Palestinian uprising against Israel, as well as the Israeli disengagement from Gaza.
Idan said that in times of conflict, members of the IDF look to the moral code that guides them, while other forces, particularly terrorist groups they have come in contact with, do not have such a code, and that it was sometimes hard to lead troops through such situations.
He spoke of one particular incident that was especially difficult, during which he witnessed an enemy use one of their civilians as a human shield.
“(Israel) protects their people with their weapons, while other forces protect their weapons with their people,” Idan said.
Sagie narrated a similar story, speaking of the difficult decision to halt certain courses in order to take troops directly into combat.
Sagie also spoke of a friend he met during his teenage years, Gaston Perpinal. He said Perpinal was hoping to make an aliyah, a term used to describe a Jewish person making his way home to Israel. Perpinal was studying Hebrew to aid in his transition, which Sagie said is similar to any other immigration process in terms of difficulty.
Perpinal later died in a bombing for which an Islamic Jihadist group claimed responsibility, another in the long list of casualties of the Second Intifada.
Sagie, of Kfar Saba, Israel, once dreamed of being the first Israeli to play basketball in the NBA, but he is now a law and business student at Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya while serving as a reserve officer. He is now a captain.
Idan, a major in the IDF who is from Karmiel, Israel, studies the Middle East and international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
In spite of the issues in the region, both men agreed it was fascinating to grow up in places you could read about in the Bible, and that their ultimate goal is to bring the audience a little piece of Israel.
“I may be biased, but Israel is the best country in the world,” Idan said.
_Edited by Waverly Colville | wcolville@themaneater.com_