In the IDF officers' training course, diversity in uniform - Danielle Roth

by Danielle Roth

Ali Hujirat, a Muslim, prefers his Jewish comrades to his neighbors who don't serve in the IDF • Settler Yehonatan Yekutiel says the key is to be decent • Meet the most culturally diverse, yet unified, team in the IDF officers' training course.

Michel Dot Com | Photo credit: Team 12 of the Gefen Battalion

Team 12 in the Gefen Battalion in the Officers' Training Base in the Negev (a base that is better known in Hebrew by its acronym, Bahad 1) seems to be comprised of the most colorful mosaic that Israel can offer. What looks like a casting list for a reality television program is actually a solid ensemble that includes a Bedouin, an Ethiopian, a European, a soldier who is half Muslim and half Jewish, residents of agricultural communities, city dwellers and a settler. All of them are in their 20s, serious about the army and about to complete the officer training course. The other teams call them "the oddball team," all in good fun, of course, and the group from the Gefen team takes it in good spirits. After all, they are working together toward a common goal -- to command the Israeli army's next generation of combat soldiers, and to do it well -- and the different background of each one of them plays no role in that.

"It makes no difference what your religion is or what unit you come from," says the team's commander, Lt. Dolev Shtiler, 23. "The army is a very strong melting pot. The differences among the team members only teach them how to get the best out of themselves." He adds, "Behind the uniforms are people, and I am a big believer in their potential. Strength of will and a great deal of perseverance will turn them into great commanders."

One of the team members, Yehonatan Ben Atar, 20, confirms Shtiler's statements. "Different cultures from the world and from different regions in Israel create a different atmosphere among us -- an atmosphere of unity," he says. Chen Sharabi, who was awarded a citation as an outstanding squad commander in the Kfir Battalion, sums it up. "As future commanding officers, it's important to us to love our soldiers thanks to and also in spite of who they are, and to get the best out of them."

Rights and responsibilities

Ali Hujirat, 20, a Bedouin Muslim from Nazareth, served as a wing commander in the Bedouin reconnaissance battalion, and his next statement proves that directness is his middle name. "Anyone who does not serve our country, even in the [civilian] National Service, should not be here -- he should just go." His words, and his service in the army, have earned him barrages of criticism, but he says he has grown immune.

"I go into the city in uniform and speak Arabic. Anyone who does not like it can hit his head against the wall as far as I am concerned. Anyone who says I am a traitor can go to hell," he says, adding that "many people around me call me a traitor and give me dirty looks on the street, but I give them a dirty look right back so that they will be scared. There is no reason why I should be scared of them."

Unlike what he encounters on the streets of Nazareth, on the Gefen team Hujirat feels himself an equal among equals. It is with that feeling that he returns home on leave, full of confidence, and courageously faces the attacks he gets at home. "They falsely accused me of firing my weapon on the street and called the police," he recalls. But he remains undaunted and makes his family and his Jewish girlfriend proud. Of course, his fellow soldiers on the team are supportive. "What more does a person need?" he asks with a smile.

Shaker Kuzal, 20, may well take the cake for diversity on the Gefen team. A Druze cadet from the village of Isfiya‎ in the Carmel region, he served as a squad commander in the Golani commando unit during Operation Protective Edge. He comes from a Bedouin Muslim family, but his mother is Jewish. It is a good mixture. "I eat hummus on Fridays and fast on Yom Kippur. I am a bit conflicted when it comes to ethnicity," Kuzal says with a wink. "People usually think I am Jewish because when I speak Hebrew, I do not have a thick Arabic accent. And then people are shocked when I say that I am a Bedouin. They do not believe me," he says.

His drive to enlist came from his family. His father served in the Israeli army, his uncle is a lieutenant colonel in the reserves and Kuzal is continuing their legacy. His family accepts his military service as a matter of course, and supports him lovingly. But it seems that only in a fantasy world could his army service go by completely smoothly in his environment.

"I come from an Arab population in which it is not customary to enlist," he says. "While I live in a Druze village where the majority of people serve in the army, in my neighborhood there are Muslims who did not like the fact that I enlisted, especially at first, and urged me not to go. They even warned me that I would only stand to lose, but in the end I went with my gut. If I want to be a citizen with equal rights, I have to be a citizen with equal responsibilities too," he says.

Like Hujirat, Kuzal also has to deal with dirty looks and insults. "When I go back home, I change into civilian clothes and go on my way. I am proud to wear my country's uniform, but at the same time I try not to be ostentatious about it. I have been called traitor a few times, and people called me a snob when they saw me in uniform, but my service is worth all the criticism, even if it creates friction at times." 

Kuzal is no different from his fellow soldiers on the Gefen team in that he is sociable and highly motivated. "I am committed to squeezing a bucket of sweat out of my troops, but not a single drop of blood," he says.

With rare candor, he adds, "All the Arabs who live in this country know that if they were living under an Arab regime, our conditions would be a good deal worse, so they are grateful that they have the State of Israel. That is how it sounds in private conversations, no matter how much they deny saying it. I tell you -- that is how they talk. I also admit that if I were Arab on both sides, Israel is the only country I would want to live in."

A matter of education

In the home of Yunes Ambao, 21, a native of Ethiopia, opinions were divided as to his enlistment. His older brother served in the Israeli army, and his younger sister will be enlisting as well. "My father supported my decision to enlist," he says, "but my mother was afraid because she felt it was dangerous. In the end, I enlisted, and I am happy about my decision."

He has reason to be happy. "In my case, people show me more respect when I am in uniform," he says. "There were situations where people saw me on the street, in uniform, and did not take their eyes off my company commander pin. They were astonished, and said it was impressive. If I look at where I came from, the background of my neighborhood, not everyone manages to get into a combat unit. It was important to me to be different. It was important to me to show that I could succeed. It was important to me to contribute to the country." About his fellow soldiers in the course, he says, "We have a team that learns and teaches, and it is important to me to be that kind of commanding officer."

One of the most dominant cadets on the team, who, on paper, would appear to be a rival of Hujirat and Kuzal, is Yehonatan Yekutiel, 21, who comes from Alon Shvut, a religious community in Gush Etzion. To put it bluntly, Yekutiel is a settler. In his community, young men are encouraged to enlist in combat units, as he did last year, after two years of studying in yeshiva.

As a cadet in the squad commanders' course in the Paratroopers' Brigade, Yekutiel fought in Operation Protective Edge, and before that in Operation Brother's Keeper, the effort to bring back three teenagers -- Naftali Frenkel, Gil-ad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah -- who had been kidnapped and were later found murdered. Yekutiel has a spark in his eyes when he speaks. He believes that the key to everything in the army is to be a decent person above all. "If I am not a good person as a civilian, the army is not going to make me into one. Everything is rooted," he says.

He is currently concentrating on his future as a commanding officer, and particularly on the educational aspect that he hopes to impart to his troop, who come from a religious background and received a strict religious education. "They come to the army with enormous gaps in their knowledge, and the feeling is that during the educational phase of basic training, they encounter certain things for the first time that others, who were part of youth movements or studied at public schools, are used to hearing, mainly about the recent history of the wars."

When asked whether the diversity of the Gefen team serves to unite its members, he chooses at first not to answer, perhaps because he knows that this phase of the officers' course is only part of the military journey that each of his comrades has undertaken. Finally he says, "It is childish to believe that we will stay friends forever," shattering the naivete of those around him.

He talks about draft evasion, claiming that one of the reasons it is on the rise is that Israeli citizens are confident that there will never be a second Holocaust and that the army will protect them from all existing threats of destruction, at any price. The problem of draft evasion does not bother David Rimon, 20, of Hadera, either, who believes that it can be resolved by educating for enlistment from a young age.

"People enlist as a consequence of the upbringing they received at home and in society, and of course because of all the experiences they had until the age of 18. But where is the education system regarding this matter? I do not remember that anyone ever talked to us in school about the importance of military service. I am convinced that if the Education Ministry were to invest and make it part of the curriculum in a serious way, starting in elementary school, the problem of draft evasion would not be so severe," Rimon says.

Eran Shemesh, 20, has a different solution. "Harsher punishments will make society itself condemn the evaders," he says. "A situation has to be created in which they will not be comfortable walking around with their heads high, their chests out and a smile on their faces. They have to be ashamed of it." David Suissa, 22, adds: "As the son of parents who were officers, I see military service from a perspective of religious belief, and serving in the Israeli army is a great mitzvah [good deed]."

Draft evasion is not the only problem that the cadets find disturbing. Aviram Hayo, 20, of Moshav Haniel, whose relatives served in the Armored Corps, became the first one of his family to be in the Infantry Corps when he joined the Nahal Brigade. He is disturbed by the training period in the battalions. "It is seven months long now, and I would extend it by a year," he says. "Of course, that would come at the expense of something else, but as a combat soldier I feel, like many others do, that the more you train, the better prepared for war you will be."

A storm in the positive sense

Despite the high level of motivation of the 13 members of the Gefen team and the support of Lt. Shtiler, their commanding officer, everybody admits that they have no aspirations to become the next chief of staff. Still, one cannot help but be impressed by the command potential of the cadets who came from elite units, such as S., B., and P. For them, the army, and concern for the nation, are part of their DNA.

For example, S. constantly searches for points of connection within the nation. "Many people saw the unconditional love that exists in our nation during Operation Protective Edge, when the entire nation mobilized and people helped one another," he says. "But right after the operation ended, nobody knew one another anymore. I think that is a shame, since if we know how to do it during a time of crisis, why can't we manage to do it during ordinary times too?" That is certainly food for thought.

He also says, a bit jokingly but mostly seriously, "There needs to be an idea for changing the way sleep is seen in the army. It is healthier and better for the body to sleep a bit more so that it will be able to work much better. We have a responsibility as soldiers and as commanders, and maximum concentration is the factor that can help us win wars." B. says that the army compensates for the shortage of sleep, personnel and budget "with high-quality personnel and by using the equipment in a calculated way."

The three cadets from elite units describe the team's diversity. P. says, "Each one of us influences the atmosphere differently. Each one of us has a different spirit, and when they are combined, it is a storm in the positive sense." 

S. says, "When we are together, we are a single unit that is learning the nuts and bolts of the army, but is also learning to get to know other people who are a bit different." S. also says that he connects to Yekutiel's earlier statement about the level of friendship: "Despite all this, once we conclude the course, all that will be left of us is the Whatsapp group."

To conclude, B. says: "They say that we are the most diverse team, but to a certain extent, it is not entirely accurate to say that we are diverse people. I would categorize us as a team made up of people with different personalities, since all of us have the same job -- to be commanders and combat soldiers."

Danielle Roth

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=25181

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