Ossama I met in the Old City of Jerusalem, when three soldiers struck a conversation with the obvious foreigner that I were, waiting there for my friends.
“Oh, so you’re Egyptian? Cool. So you speak Arabic? Speak!”
I wondered if he was kidding or was being an arse. He was smiling though. “What would you like to hear?” I replied, in the tone of a singer browsing his repertoire, and in my best Egyptian accent.
Made him laugh. I get this a lot here - people find my accent very entertaining.
Determined to play the reporter and having an obvious age advantage on the kid, I started quizzing him.
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“So where are you from?”
“From the north. You know where Kiryat Shmona is? That’s it”.
I knew this town, whose main claim to fame is being very close to Lebanon and having been a battlefield during the 2006 Lebanon war. He was surprised when I told him I visited.
“So... you’re a Druze?”
“No, man, no! I’m Muslim!”
I blinked in disbelief. Aren’t Arabs exempted from serving?
“And my name is Ossama!”
He smiled, knowing the enduring and very unfortunate reference now made to his name. He knew I didn’t miss the joke.
“Aren’t Arabs exempted from serving though?”
I knew they were. Some volunteer, because having army experience on your resume opens lots of doors, including jobs that specifically have this requirement to weed out Arabs.
“Yes. But I am... (cannot find the word in Arabic). Ani metnadev”. I volunteer.
“But why?”
The question seemed to embarrass him so I quickly threw him a rope.
“You always wanted to serve since you were a kid, right? Army was always cool?”
He nodded, grateful for the line I threw him.
“Yes. I have this uncle - since I’ve been a kid, I’ve always done what he does. And he went to the army, and now I am too”.
A little later, he adds: “lots of men of my family went through the service - my uncle, his son, my father. Now me”.
Wow.
“So how long is your service for? Three years?”
“Yeah. But I signed for longer. (short dramatic silence) I signed for life”.
Double wow.
“How old are you, Ossama?”
“Eighteen”.
I had nothing to say to him but to wish him luck.
He thanked me and headed to the Jeep, as his officer called him.
“Oh, so you’re Egyptian? Cool. So you speak Arabic? Speak!”
I wondered if he was kidding or was being an arse. He was smiling though. “What would you like to hear?” I replied, in the tone of a singer browsing his repertoire, and in my best Egyptian accent.
Made him laugh. I get this a lot here - people find my accent very entertaining.
Determined to play the reporter and having an obvious age advantage on the kid, I started quizzing him.
“So where are you from?”
“From the north. You know where Kiryat Shmona is? That’s it”.
I knew this town, whose main claim to fame is being very close to Lebanon and having been a battlefield during the 2006 Lebanon war. He was surprised when I told him I visited.
“So... you’re a Druze?”
“No, man, no! I’m Muslim!”
I blinked in disbelief. Aren’t Arabs exempted from serving?
“And my name is Ossama!”
He smiled, knowing the enduring and very unfortunate reference now made to his name. He knew I didn’t miss the joke.
“Aren’t Arabs exempted from serving though?”
I knew they were. Some volunteer, because having army experience on your resume opens lots of doors, including jobs that specifically have this requirement to weed out Arabs.
“Yes. But I am... (cannot find the word in Arabic). Ani metnadev”. I volunteer.
“But why?”
The question seemed to embarrass him so I quickly threw him a rope.
“You always wanted to serve since you were a kid, right? Army was always cool?”
He nodded, grateful for the line I threw him.
“Yes. I have this uncle - since I’ve been a kid, I’ve always done what he does. And he went to the army, and now I am too”.
A little later, he adds: “lots of men of my family went through the service - my uncle, his son, my father. Now me”.
Wow.
“So how long is your service for? Three years?”
“Yeah. But I signed for longer. (short dramatic silence) I signed for life”.
Double wow.
“How old are you, Ossama?”
“Eighteen”.
I had nothing to say to him but to wish him luck.
He thanked me and headed to the Jeep, as his officer called him.
10 comments:
No comment!
There are a lot of Beduin in the army, too -- but not in Kiryat Shemona! More and more of the younger people are volunteering for National Service as well--its non-military and gets you the same benefits, and you get to give back directly to your own community (whether Jewish or Arab or Druse, etc.)
When I was a child, the United States still had separate seating for Blacks and Whites -- and now a man whose heritage is both, although he identifies strongly as a Black man, is President.
It gives me hope that in another 50years, we will all be Israeli without the suffix of "Jewish" or "Arab," and that no one will think twice about having an Arab Prime Minister.
Don't laugh. If it can happen in America, it can happen here too. We all need MLK's dream.
So, does that mean that his occupation would make him an occupier? :-)
Liza - you reminded me of that joke:
An Israeli goes to London on vacations. The customs officer at Heathrow asks him a couple of questions:
- Name?
- (gives name)
- Occupation?
- Oh, no no, just visiting!
Aliyah06: The idea of a civil service is a very good one. Actually, I'd love if they implemented it in Egypt as well...
As for an Arab prime minister - unlikely to happen. the fundamental difference between Israel today and segregationist USA is that Israel's identity as a Jewish country is bound to ensure the supremacy of one group over the other, and as such will never evolve as we would both like it to happen. It wasn't written anywhere that the USA was a 'white' country; it was merely a system inherited from the slavery time, which was bound to evolve with time.
I foresee no such evolution in Israel. Arabs can only aspire to be token ministers with unimportant portfolios, nothing more.
I wonder if he finds it conflicting and confusing to be an Arab serving for an occupier to make Palestinian lives more miserable.
Bedouin not only serve in the IDF, but many serve with distinction and some rise to high rank (colonels or generals). At least 2 Bedouin soldiers have been killed in action against HAMAS on the Gaza border in 2008.
Arab service in the IDF often runs in families. This is in part because many leaders in the broader Israeli Arab community ridicule and attack Arabs who enlist, and without support from the family, the community and family pressure against enlisting may be intense and can prevent young people from doing it, even if they themselves are interested in doing it.
On the other hand, serving in the army can help Israeli Arabs to get ahead in Israeli society, where the military is a common bond, a rite of passage and an experience in which friendships, contacts and careers often begin. And although it may seem strange to other Arabs, Israeli Arabs may also feel that it is their obligation to defend the country in which they live, and may serve with pride, as in this example:
http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3515927,00.html
In general, Ali, I think that they believe in the defensive aspect. Suicide bombers, Qassams and katyushas kill Israeli Arabs, not just Israeli Jews. Arab volunteers in the IDF are not out there trying to make other people miserable, though if treated as hated traitors by Palestinians, I am sure that they respond with negativity. Most people would.
The number of Israeli Arabs serving in the IDF is still fairly small, but it has recently begun to grow more rapidly.
As someone said earlier, non-military national service (Sherut Leumi) was also opened to Arab (and ultra-orthodox) communities a few years ago with the thought that even though Israeli Arabs should not be drafted and forced to fight their cousins, they should still have the opportunity to do some kind of service that grants them some of the same social benefits. Israel's radical Arab parties condemn this, largely, I think, because anything that allows Arab Israelis to break into mainstream Israeli society costs them votes. These parties have been desperately trying to squash it, but though it is still a small program, the number of Israeli Arabs doing national service has been growing rapidly year over year. National service turns out to be particularly attractive for young Israeli Arab women, who make up 80% of Arab national service enlistees. That probably says something very important about the benefit of the program to the pioneering young Arab women, particularly those from conservative Muslim families, who are doing it. National service often involves working in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other social institutions in the community. These young women are using the program to get out of the home and step onto the first rung of the ladder to possible future careers, something that would otherwise be much tougher for them than it is for young Arab men.
-Zvi
Zvi, thanks for sharing this info, I didnt have that much insight on Arab Israelis serving in the Army. I still think they must have some kind of conflicting feelings when they are defending a country that is killing their Palestinian borthers and sisters every day and I wonder how they feel when they humilate Palestinains on check points in the West Bank. I think its ok to have some kind of commuinity work for the IDF, since they had no choice but to hold the Irsaeli citizeonship when Israel was created.
Hi, Ali.
You are very welcome.
I think there are probably some (many?) conflicting feelings when they are serving in the WB on checkpoints, but not necessarily when stationed on, say, the northern border.
If the soldier who talked with Mohammed does come from somewhere very close to Kiryat Shmona, which was heavily rocketed by Hizballah in 2006 and was attacked at various times before that, then his family may well have come under fire from Arabs on a number of occasions.
I also think that when talking to other Arabs who are not in the IDF, it is likely that most will feel some shyness about the subject, in part because of how the other Arabs are likely to react.
Numerical Nitpick: please remember that the IDF does not kill Palestinians "every day" (or even close to that), and a lot of the Palestinian deaths during he intifadah occurred when HAMAS, Islamic Jihad, PRC, AAMB, etc. and Israeli border police or soldiers were engaged in armed battles, many of which occurred when Israeli soldiers tried to arrest members of militant groups. There is a sense in the Arab world that the Palestinians are the victims of a continual bloodbath, but this simply isn't true, like the western myth that in Israel is totally unsafe and that there are bombs going off every day (other than the area around Gaza, which has near-daily rockets and mortars to worry about.
Since the Israeli amnesty for some leading Fatah militants, and because PA under the current leadership actually seems serious about keeping the peace and arresting terrorists, that rate has dropped precipitously and should drop even further in the WB.
Factual correction: national service (Sherut Leumi) is not for the IDF at all; it is for the State, but it is not related to or administered by the military. It is an alternative to military service.
Thanks again for an interesting conversation.
-Zvi
Zvi, and I assume you are an Israeli. The Israeli government has been opressing the Palestinains long before Hamas, Isdlamic Jihad existed. How about Israel ends the occupation, give people some justice and freedom, and remove Fatah, Hamas from any authority, remove the Aparthied wall, then Israel will be safer have more security, trust me, Peace will not be achievable if the injustice continues. Its a simple formula. Now Israeli and Palestinains will have to decide witer to go for a 1 state or 2 states solution, I support the 1 state ofcourse
Mohamed! Where are you?
I miss your blogs!
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