Israel’s Mona Lisa Weapon

by Steven Plaut

She’s unforgettable, she’s a legend though
… It’s kinda incredible

— From “Mona Lisa” by Britney Spears

Meet Israel’s secret weapon against terrorism, code named “Mona Lisa.” Not only is Mona Lisa an effective weapon against Arab anti-Israel terrorism and Islamofascism, but she is also one of the most effective weapons in the Israeli arsenal against the guttersnipes screaming about imaginary “Israel Apartheid.” Let us sit back and watch in amusement as Hitlerjugend from the “Boycott and Divest from Israel” movement and their fellow jihad travelers try to cope with our Mona.

There are two critical things you need to know about this new secret weapon. The first is that Mona Lisa is the real name of an Israeli woman combat soldier. At her parents’ suggestion – she writes it as a single word, Monalisa (Nat King Cole did the same!). The second thing you need to know is that she is an Arab.

Monalisa Abdo is a nineteen year old combat soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces. She serves in one of Israel’s elite anti-terror units. Moreover she wears the legendary red army boots that only Israel’s most elite fighting units wear, the Israeli equivalents of the American SEALS and green berets. My own military experiences are timid in comparison with what soldiers do and no one would ever think of letting me even get near a pair of red combat boots.

Monalisa grew up in Haifa. Most Israeli Arabs are not conscripted into the Israeli military, but they may volunteer to serve if they wish. Some do so out of patriotism and loyalty to the state, and some do so because of the career benefits and training that will help them later in the workplace. Monalisa is clearly among the former. Her story and an interview with her appear in the December 2, 2011 issue of Israel’s Yediot Ahronot newspaper.

She describes the nasty comments some Arabs made to her and her family members when she signed up. She dismisses them. And her parents are squarely behind her. “Israeli Arabs need to serve in the Israeli military,” she insists in the interview, “to give to the country and not just take.” Israel is our country and we need to serve it, she believes. And military service is beneficial for those who serve, she adds, teaching them discipline and responsibility. Monalisa’s older sister Michelin, age 21, has also decided to enlist and will start her service in a few days. In the same unit as Mona.

Monalisa not only asked to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces but signed up for an elite combat unit named “Karkel,” in which both men and women serve side by side on the front lines. Karkel is the name of a wild desert cat that lives in Israel’s south. The unit is station in the Arava desert close to the border with Egypt. Hunting down terrorist infiltrators is its specialty.

She describes her first day in uniform, when she was being outfitted with equipment and fatigues. The orderlies gave her the ordinary black combat boots that non-elite soldiers wear. “You gave me the wrong boots,” she insisted, “I demand the red combat boots.” And she got them. She says that when she first put them on, she felt like a super-model. And while old men like myself are not supposed to notice such things in 19 year olds, from her photo it is clear she really could pass for a model if she decided to pursue that instead of military service.

Since starting her tour of duty, she has taken the non-commissioned officer training course and is already a NCO. When asked in the interview how she gets along with the Jewish women soldiers, she says just great. “There are no differences among us, we support and help one another.”

And about her name. Where did it come from? “My father wanted me to always walk with pride with my head erect, and it had just that effect upon me,” she explains.

Come to think of it, maybe we have here the most effect[ive] countermeasure yet against the Western campus bashers of Israel, the anti-Semitic professors, and the jihadi wannabes holding their anti-Israel protests and whining about Israeli “apartheid.” In reality, Israel is of course the only Middle East state that is not an apartheid regime. Maybe Israel should let loose Monalisa, Michelin, and the rest of the red-booted fighting tigresses and invite them to apply those boots to some anti-Israel protester posteriors with extreme prejudice!

Steven Plaut

Source: http://frontpagemag.com/2011/12/06/israel%E2%80%99s-mona-lisa-weapon/

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.