{"id":15092,"date":"2024-02-05T00:46:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T00:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/05\/israeli-soldiers-struggle-to-square-political-views-with-the-realities-of-war\/"},"modified":"2024-02-05T00:46:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T00:46:12","slug":"israeli-soldiers-struggle-to-square-political-views-with-the-realities-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/05\/israeli-soldiers-struggle-to-square-political-views-with-the-realities-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli soldiers struggle to square political views with the realities of war"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Amos Shani Atzmon says he doesn\u2019t blame Palestinians in Gaza for hating Israel right now. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey have really good reasons. When you see cities on fire and are getting bombed \u2026 I had one close friend killed in Gaza and I am thinking about the people whose entire families died in bombing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservist, Atzmon, 26, was called up just hours after Hamas launched its brutal terror attack on Israel, murdering around 1,200 people and kidnapping 253 others. <\/p>\n

Israel swiftly retaliated to the October 7 assault with a massive aerial bombardment campaign, followed by a ground operation. More than 27,000 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the enclave. According to UN agencies, 400,000 Gazans are at risk of starving <\/p>\n

The international community, including some of Israel\u2019s closest allies, are increasingly horrified\u00a0at\u00a0the scale of the violence inflicted on civilians in Gaza. <\/p>\n

The\u00a0International Court of Justice\u00a0(ICJ) found that it was \u201cplausible\u201d that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Israel to\u00a0\u201ctake all measures\u201d to limit the death and destruction caused by its\u00a0military campaign, prevent and punish incitement to genocide, and ensure access to humanitarian aid.\u00a0The\u00a0decision by ICJ is not a ruling on whether Israel\u2019s actions constitute genocide. <\/p>\n

Regardless,\u00a0little has changed on the ground. <\/p>\n

Atzmon said he is the \u201cleft-wing guy\u201d in his unit. Like tens of thousands of others, he had spent most of last spring and summer protesting against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his plans to overhaul Israel\u2019s judiciary. <\/p>\n

Netanyahu\u2019s government is the most right-wing\u00a0in Israel\u2019s history, rejecting the idea of a Palestinian state and supporting Jewish settlements inside the West Bank. <\/p>\n

Atzmon, meanwhile, wants Israel to work towards a two-state solution. \u201cThe Palestinian people will never stop fighting us until they have their own autonomy. And I think the end goal needs to be that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

His political views are sometimes difficult to square with the realities of being a soldier, fighting on behalf of a government he doesn\u2019t support.\u00a0He says he\u2019s been grappling with this since he started forming his political opinions around the age of 15, anticipating his military service \u2013 something almost everyone in Israel must complete. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m devastated about the death of people in Gaza, kids, the elderly. Just normal men (aged) 26, like me, we don\u2019t want to die. But I have the right to defend myself and to defend my family, my friends, my loved ones,\u201d he said, rejecting the notion that the Hamas terror attack was an act of \u201cresistance\u201d against the Israeli blockade. \u201cI\u2019m not saying this is not a complex situation. But I\u2019m 100% sure that I\u2019m on the right side of history, and that I\u2019m trying to defend people.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in the kibbutzim felt like the most inhuman thing I ever witnessed. So when I\u2019m facing this kind of evil, I felt, and I still feel, that entering the war is the only way. Because these are not people I can speak with or comprehend,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Hundreds of people were murdered in Be\u2019eri, Nir Oz, Kfar Azza and other kibbutzim near the Gaza perimeter. <\/p>\n

Atzmon said he wants Netanyahu, who is on trial for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, out of the office \u2013 the sooner the better. \u201cHe should have resigned on the 7th of October. I wanted to wake up on the 8th and watch him on TV telling people \u2018I have failed you and I\u2019m sorry. I\u2019m stepping down,\u2019 but that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d he said, adding that he would have welcomed nearly anyone else in the role. <\/p>\n

Studying to become a social worker, Atzmon is passionate about his political beliefs. Yet as a soldier, he has fought shoulder to shoulder with people whose opinions couldn\u2019t be further from his own. <\/p>\n

Military service is mandatory for all Jewish citizens and for male Druze and Circassian citizens of Israel. Arab citizens and ultra-orthodox Jews are exempt from service, although they may choose to join. <\/p>\n

The strict conscription laws mean the military is politically as diverse as Israeli society. People who wouldn\u2019t cross paths otherwise are suddenly thrust together and forced to overcome their differences. <\/p>\n

Emmanuel, a 35-year-old reservist currently serving in a combat unit in and around the Gaza Strip, is as passionately right-wing as Atzmon is left-wing. <\/p>\n

He believes Israel will need to control Gaza for years to come, agreeing with Netanyuahu who said he wants Israel to have \u201coverall security responsibility\u201d in the strip for an \u201cindefinite period\u201d after the war ends. <\/p>\n

Emmanuel said the West Bank could serve as a blueprint for the future of Gaza. The fact that he refers to the area by its biblical name and ancient Israelite kingdoms \u2013 \u201cJudea and Samaria\u201d \u2013 is just a small reminder that in this region of divisions and complexities, the words one chooses speak volumes of one\u2019s convictions. <\/p>\n

Using the biblical name of the ancient homeland\u00a0of the Jewish people is one way the Israeli government tries to legitimize Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law. <\/p>\n

Atzmon, on the other hand, calls it the West Bank and says he is \u201cvery sure\u201d that it is under occupation. <\/p>\n

Some of Netanyahu\u2019s coalition partners are going a step further, proposing to build Jewish settlements in Gaza. <\/p>\n

The issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank is already a major fault line within Israeli society and in the country\u2019s diplomatic relationships. The idea of building settlements in Gaza has alarmed Israel\u2019s allies, with the United States\u2019 top diplomat rebuking the plans. <\/p>\n

Netanyahu himself has so far rejected the idea of new settlements in Gaza as \u201cunrealistic,\u201d saying in an English-language statement that \u201cIsrael has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.\u201d <\/p>\n

But Emmanuel supports that idea. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must establish new settlements. Not because we want to wipe out the Palestinians. No. We must have a real clear win over our enemies that everybody will understand. This is the price that you pay if you mess with us,\u201d he said. \u00a0
\u00a0
Over 1.9 million people\u00a0in Gaza, or nearly 85% of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced, according to the United Nations. Efforts to force them put of their homes permanently would be a breach of international law \u2013 and are among the arguments presented by South Africa in its ICJ case against Israel.\u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
\u201cAnd the second reason is security. We know from Judea and Samaria that it\u2019s easier to control the security in the area if you have settlements there,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The divisions and arguments within the Israeli society over the future of Gaza and the West Bank have become even deeper and more heated since the October 7 attacks. <\/p>\n

Not everyone gets involved, however. <\/p>\n

For 19-year-old combat soldier Mendel, the political disagreements seem a bit meaningless at this point. <\/p>\n

An American from Long Island, Mendel decided to join the IDF after living in Israel for a few years. <\/p>\n

He said that when being drafted, he didn\u2019t think he would be involved in a war. But things have changed on October 7, he said. \u00a0
\u00a0
\u201cThey are still holding hostages there. What do you want us to do? If we back out and they still have our hostages? What would you do if that was you? What would you want your family doing if that was you?\u201d <\/p>\n

Difficult conversations<\/h2>\n

According to the IDF, 224 Israeli troops have been killed in Gaza since the ground operation began in late October. <\/p>\n

Among them, Atzmon said, was his best friend, who was killed in a battle in southern Gaza in late December. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s our obligation to think about it and discuss it because the distance between fighting for your loved ones and killing people for revenge is really, really small,\u201d he said during an interview in Jerusalem on Wednesday, just a few days after returning from his deployment. <\/p>\n

He said he believes that individual soldiers and the military in general must continually have conversations about what is proportionate force. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause if we\u2019re not, if we\u2019re entering Gaza and doing whatever we want out of pure revenge, then we\u2019re going to be as bad as Hamas. And we\u2019re not. I am not going to let them turn me into a murderer,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

But many outside Israel argue the limits of proportionality have been crossed. In an unprecedented display of coordinated dissent, more than 800 officials from the United States and Europe signed a scathing criticism of\u00a0Western policy\u00a0towards Israel and\u00a0Gaza, accusing their governments of possible complicity in war crimes. <\/p>\n

Emmanuel said he too sympathizes with innocent civilians. But he said he believes fighting the war the way it is currently conducted is the only option. <\/p>\n

He said that successive Israeli governments were wrong to believe that keeping Gaza sealed off and under blockade would \u201cmanage\u201d the situation. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe that Churchill or Roosevelt thought they can manage Hitler. There\u2019s no managing your enemies. Either we let them wipe out our country or we defeat them,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd to be clear, we are not at war with the Palestinian people in Gaza. Our war is with Hamas. Nobody wants to kill an innocent civilian, an innocent woman, an innocent child \u2013 but if we have to fight a war, there are casualties. \u201d <\/p>\n

Mendel, by far the youngest of the trio, said he feels strongly about the \u201chorrible\u201d injustice of innocent people dying. <\/p>\n

\u201cWars shouldn\u2019t happen, (Hamas) should not have started this and none of this would have happened,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t think that starting it justifies any civilians dying, but it\u2019s a war and war is a horrible, brutal thing, but it\u2019s either that or they would have massacred the rest of us with smiles on their faces.\u201d <\/p>\n

Most of all, he said he just wants the war to end. He said he misses his family, his mom especially. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe is the best of all,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd she makes the best challah in the world,\u201d he added, referring to the traditional Jewish braided bread served on special occasions. <\/p>\n

Mendel has some two years left of his military service. Whether the war will end by the time he finishes is anyone\u2019s guess. <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amos Shani Atzmon says he doesn\u2019t blame Palestinians in Gaza for hating Israel right now. \u201cThey have really good reasons. When you see cities on fire and are getting bombed \u2026 I had one close friend killed in Gaza and I am thinking about the people whose entire families died in bombing,\u201d he said. An <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15093,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}