The young Australians 'walking into a war zone' to join the Israeli Defence Force as

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The young Australians 'walking into a war zone' to join the Israeli Defence Force as 'lone soldiers'
By: Andrea Thiis-Evensen - Earshot News and ABC Net Au News - 07-30-20
Re: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-...diers/12465416

"This is life or death. The day you swore allegiance to this country is the day you swore your life. This isn't a game … people die."

This was Mai's revelation. She was on the other side of the world, in an army, and she'd volunteered.

Mai has lived in Australia all her life, but made the decision to join the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) when she turned 18.

"My dad is Israeli, and my grandfather as well, and I always felt a deeper connection to the State of Israel," she tells ABC RN's Earshot.

"I knew from the youngest age that I was going to turn 18, and go to the army, and nothing was stopping me."

Photo link: https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/124...xlarge.jpg?v=2
Mai became a 'lone soldier', someone who chooses to go to Israel and volunteer for the Israeli army.(Supplied: Alexi Rosenfeld, IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

As her friends began their gap years travelling Europe, Mai was going into a war zone.

"To be doing something like that at 19, in retrospect, it's a bit crazy," she says.

"Most of my friends at 19 were just starting their first year of university or, doing something different with their lives.

"I was walking into a war zone, geared with guns and ammunition and grenades, and I was terrified."

2nd photo link: https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/124...xlarge.jpg?v=2
National military service is mandatory for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, but people from other countries also volunteer.(Supplied: Alexi Rosenfeld, IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

'I never felt fear before'
Mai was born in Israel but moved to Australia when she was just over a year old.

She was exempt from Israeli army service, but made the decision to become what is called a lone soldier — someone who chooses to leave their home and move to Israel to join the IDF.

It's estimated there are around 7,000 lone soldiers in the IDF today, from more than 70 different countries.

Service in the IDF can also be compulsory for some young adults who immigrate to Israel — what's called "making Aliyah".

3rd photo link: https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/124...xlarge.jpg?v=2
Some people find it hard to understand why anyone would sign up to be a lone soldier.(Supplied)

Mai returned to Israel when she was 18. As a lone soldier, she didn't have her parents with her there.

One day she suddenly missed them more than ever.

"I was assigned this mission, my commanders told me I was scheduled to do an arrest," she says.

"I never felt fear before, but I was going into a place where I could be stabbed, I could be shot.

"You're not allowed to ask why, you're not allowed to ask questions, you're given a command and you do it, otherwise you can go to jail."

When she told her friends that night that she was afraid to die, their response was she knew that was a possibility when she joined the army.

"I don't know why but lone soldiers and the service is misrepresented I think. A lot of kids that decide to make this decision, they see it as a gap year program," she says.

"That's not what it is, and that was the moment I realised that's not what it is either. It's the military, you're in the army, it's not just a gap year program."

While serving Mai lost one of her friends. She only found out he had died after the funeral had taken place.

"It's life or death ... and I said to myself, this is not a program, people die ... just like he did, he made the ultimate sacrifice."

Lone soldier sounds 'a bit bizarre'

Jeanine is a Palestinian diaspora advocate and educator who came to Australia as a refugee when she was three years old.

She finds it hard to understand why Australian citizens choose to join the IDF.

"I find it interesting and quite mind-boggling to think that another Australian citizen could go to Israel and reproduce the same system that forced me to come to Australia, to begin with," she says.

Jeanine was born stateless, inheriting her father's refugee status.

Her grandfather was driven out of Palestinian territory when he was 18, and her father was born in a refugee camp in Syria.

"When you're born Palestinian, you're born into the struggle. I grew up going to a lot of protests, and my parents wanted me to know what happened on the ground," she says.

"I was six years old the first time I had a nightmare about an IDF soldier coming into my house and killing my whole family in front of me."

Jeanine knew about Australians joining the IDF but didn't know they had the label of a "lone soldier" attached to them.

"I find the term 'lone' a bit bizarre. It suggests that the person is isolated and on their own, when in reality they must have been involved with Israel, otherwise they wouldn't feel compelled to serve in the IDF," she says.

She alleges the IDF commits crimes during its operations, and says "it's not hard to read about what is happening".

The Palestinian group Hamas has also been accused of war crimes against Israelis, but Jeanine says "pointing fingers at Hamas" detracts from the bigger issue.

"Palestinians in Gaza are human beings. They have been fighting for their freedom, their human rights, and their right to exist for over 72 years," she says.

"The Israeli 'Defence' Force is not defending one side of a 'two-sided' conflict. Rather, they are offensively dispossessing Palestinian people from their homes and contributing to human rights abuses against Palestinian people."

'Everything in life happens for a reason'

4th Photo Link: https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/124...xlarge.jpg?v=3
An IDF soldier during a training exercise.(Supplied: Alexi Rosenfeld, IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Another young Australian who chose to join the IDF is 20-year-old Amit, who is currently in Israel.

Amit was born in Australia and was therefore not obligated to join.

"Becoming a lone soldier gives me a chance to fight for my country ... it gives me a chance to be who I really want to be, a full blood Israeli," he says.

"If I die, I was meant to die. I believe everything in life happens for a reason.

"I feel so strongly about doing combat, that I must do combat, I am not afraid of it. It's just where my life is supposed to take me."

Amira has lived in Melbourne her whole life, while the majority of her family is in Palestinian territory.

5th Photo Link: https://www.abc.net.au/cm/rimage/124...xlarge.jpg?v=2
Tensions between Israeli forces and the Palestinian people remain high.(Getty: Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency)

She spent the last five months living in East Jerusalem, and says there was a big feeling of "us and them".

"The military presence around the mosques and in the streets, the way they talk to Palestinian women … you really can't ignore the IDF."

Like Jeanine, Amira finds it hard to understand why Australians become lone soldiers.

"I find it so difficult to comprehend why people would go from Australia to Israel and accept a passport in exchange for military service," she says.

"It astounds me because of all that has happened to my family."

Amira's cousin was killed by an IDF soldier after he was stopped in his friend's car, accused of stealing it.

She says an argument broke out, and he was shot in the chest.

"They left him to bleed for 30 minutes on the road before they called an ambulance. He was just 21 years old," she says.

"How can something so terrible happen to someone so kind? It is literally because it is children behind these weapons."

Her family found out about his death after seeing his shoes under a body cloth on TV.

"They shot my cousin and they shot someone's brother and they shot someone who is my age, and they just left him there. I just can't understand how someone can go there and ignore what is happening."

'I would do it all over again' Mai says while she can't speak to the thoughts of others, in her experience the IDF is "morally admirable".

"I can say whole-heartedly that I have never seen a more ethically grounded military when dealing with one of the most complicated conflicts in the world," she says.

She says she saw IDF soldiers go to the aid of injured Palestinians, and help get them food and medication.

"From personal experience, as soldiers, we're taught first about the importance of humanity. That we are all human beings with or without our respective political or military affiliations," she says.

"We were told about the severe consequences of misconduct towards civilians of all cultures and backgrounds."

She notes that "as soldiers we don't wish to engage in conflict unnecessarily".

"We don't enlist into the IDF for the chance to kill a terrorist or make ourselves out to be heroes. We know that we are serving in order to defend the Jewish nation — to defend our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. We are part of the Israeli Defence Forces — not the Israeli Attack Forces."

Even after everything Mai went through — the fear, being isolated from family, losing her friend — she's still happy she went.

"I would never change anything, I would do everything the exact same way," she says.

"It shaped me and taught me a lot about myself, about my strength and what I am capable of.

"I would do it all over again in a heartbeat."

The IDF's spokesperson unit declined to give ABC RN a statement on lone soldiers or Australians serving in the IDF.

ABC RN also requested comment on allegations the IDF has committed war crimes, but its spokesperson unit did not respond prior to publication.

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Personal note: Your 1st time is always the hardest - the not knowing and having never been called upon to kill another to protect yourself and/or your Aussie Zionists people. You will be a hundred years older should you survive your ordeal. I will think of you after reading this post - and wish you well and long life. God Bless you for your heroic service to your country. May God Be With You and all your Comrades In Arms.

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