It happens too many times than I can recall. A simple stop through the Shuk or the Tahanat Merkazit in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem will almost always yield the sight of IDF soldiers in transit, going to and from their bases. M-16's and Micro Tavors slung on their shoulders, backpacks and kit bags in hand.
And on certain occasions, more often than not, you'll have the chance to overhear distinct, American accented voices speaking English or Hebrew, bellowing into cellphones or talking with friends. They are a specific breed of soldier unique to the IDF. For better or worse, a category that I myself fall into. Preferably in the former tier, I hope.
It's a small and particular sub-culture of Americans who've served in the Israeli military. All of them crazy enough to have made Aliyah in the first place. Even more so, within this unique fraternity exists additional groups as well. I realized the extent of this my first day in the army when I reported to the Bakum, the IDF processing center for new recruits at the sprawling Tel Hashomer base outside Tel Aviv.
From the younger, collective, kibbutz living Garin Tzabar recruits, many of whom are the children of Israelis, to the Mahal volunteers, serving as non-citizens, and the individual new immigrant Lone Soldiers like myself, who made the move out of conviction or like others due to circumstance or even thrills. You can identify and break down each niche. 18 year old girls straight out of high school from California to the 25 year old graduate Oleh from New York. Each with their own story, yet sharing the same purpose, to serve and defend the only Jewish state in the world. The State of Israel.
זרוע היבשה
Despite all the diversity, even within the demographic that makes up Americans serving in the IDF. The main schism remains the same, just as it does among regular Israelis. That being, the division between secular and religious soldiers.
Immediately upon arrival at Bakum, the factional breakdown was apparent. Recruits in knitted Kippot instantly flocked to one another, while the rest of us casually exchanged greetings and got on, while taking in our new surroundings. I do my best to try not to knock on religious soldiers too much given their contributions, however, something has to be said about the comparative inclusiveness between those of us who are secular in contrast to our religious counterparts. While plenty of the religious guys I served with were top notch, the collective and judgmental mentality of so many of them was more than off-putting. It was a disgrace. To my friends and I, it didn't matter where you came from or what your background was, all we cared about were the same qualities we valued in everyday life, that of integrity, loyalty and a solid sense of being down to earth. I recall a couple of religious guys even going so far as to ask why secular Jews would make Aliyah to Israel. I had to emphatically remind them they don't hold a monopoly on Zionism and that if it wasn't for secular Jews like ourselves and Israeli pioneers of the same ilk who built this country, there wouldn't be a Jewish State to call our own and they wouldn't be where they are today.
במחנה
While I recognize the contribution of Religious Zionists to the army and Israeli society as a whole, many factors jump out as troubling to me. In the past 15- 20 years, they have been disproportionately represented as combat soldiers and across the ranks of junior officers in the IDF, and increasingly into the upper echelon of senior ranks as well. Their dedication and sacrifice is something to be applauded. Whether this is a good thing however in terms of the effectiveness of the military going forward remains to be seen though. In my personal opinion, I think it's a dangerous precedent that's being set. Rabbis armed with Halakha should not be holding higher authority than commanders in the field. The dangers of this were evident recently when the army succumbed to the will of religious soldiers in its midst and allowed female soldiers to be forcefully separated from males at an official army event. And none more outrageous than the open defiance by a battalion from the Kfir Brigade a few years back, when they disrupted a swearing in ceremony at the Kotel and stated loudly that as Jews they would not participate in the dismantlement of outposts or any evacuation of Jewish settlers from the the West Bank. If that doesn't sound an alarm, I don't know what does.
With the additional planned integration of thousands of Haredim into its ranks, the IDF is at a crisis point in terms of its future identity. Even as an army of the people, an effective military cannot have two separate marching orders. A shared ethos must be restored and the emerging religious influence and character of the IDF reigned in and curtailed.
