I am Lebanese Muslim. I am not here to discuss Israel role, because we can all come to an agreement that they are a fascist genocidal manics that want to expand under pretext of security. But what I don't understand why do we make the Palestinians to be those noble human beings that never did anything wrong. Because looking at facts Palestinians factions have betrayed every country that helped them. They turned on the Kuwaitis when Saddam invaded. They turned on the king of Jordan and established a state with a state, tried to overthrow him for their benefit and because their cause is the "most noble" all is justified. The moment someone question it they become a traitor. They also tried to establish a state with in a state in Lebanon which caused a civil war and Lebanon only went down hell from there. I never understood Palestinian way of resistance such as hijacking planes and killing Olympics players. Also on Oct 7 (fuck Piers Morgan for always bringing it up because I know it didn't start there) but still some points have to be raised. We cannot know for sure how many were killed by hamas or the IOF , definitely Israel killed its on people to make it huge. But still I don't get why take an elderly lady or baby hostage that is terrible you know. If they would took military age men hostages it is fair game no question ask. Now part of Lebanon is occupied because we had fought their wars when stronger states like Egypt and Jordan chose cold peace with Israel. I was rooting for hezbollah against Israel in the war but I also hate them for starting it for a foreign nation because I apologize you are not Lebanese nor your cause is. Hezbollah hijacked Lebanon under the pretext of freeing Palestine that for decades it was hard to have any functional state because hezbollah controlled everything. I am sorry to say this but it is not our cause and like Egypt and Jordan we should have a cold peace for the greater good of Lebanon. Constant state of war is not a good model for building a state, so peace with the devil is better. My point is Palestinians should learn that just because they are suffering it doesn't justify the history, they are only harming themselves and others. They should playing the israel playbook of victim card and do some reflections about their factions and leaders. What was gained by Oct 7 it didn't help anyone and in my opinion it was a stupid way to resist occupation

Personally I have been sounding the alarm over Israel's hubris but Israelis keep brushing things aside and thinning out the miniature little support that they still have. It is so tiring. Why would IDF do such a dumb thing when they know right now things are hanging by a tiny and fragile thread? Honestly?

I have ignored/rationalized some IDF behavior but the smashing of the statue (whether the statue was fake or real or rigged with bomb) was extremely stupid and points to a serious issue in Israeli chain of command from the top to the very bottom.

The PM should tell the Generals that religious symbols are out of bounds, especially Christian symbols. The message should then flow downwards until it reaches the foot soldiers and vigorously enforced. Right now people are tired and moody and are actively looking for any reason to say "see, we told you" and Israel dumbly gives them the needed ammo to do so. Israel willingly proves them right. Honestly???

Why doesn't IDF ban phones in the combat zone and restrict phones to only button phones? Why does IDF allow soldiers to post pictures online (since 2023, this is open ignorance and hubris). Why doesn't commanders enforce discipline?

That guy Tirawi has been leaking photos since 2023 and I thought IDF would learn but IDF and Israel in general think they are in a pre 7/10 world. There are too many signs to ignore and/or sweep aside.

All Democrats Senators who have presidential ambitions voted with Bernie to restrict support for Israel. Trump is facing extreme pressure from his camp and the next guy who is Republican nominee is an anti Israel hack.

If Israel continues being dumb, I would honestly drop my support for them and focus on my country problems (there are many). I won't support Palestinians though, their positions aren't any much better than the IDF they are crying about and they have issues with terrorism.

The video of the IDF soldier smashing that Jesus statue in Lebanon is obviously looks bad, and honestly, almost everyone in Israel is disgusted by it. But if you actually look at what happened next, it shows why there is a massive difference between the two sides. Instead of making excuses or celebrating the guy, the Israeli government and the IDF went into full accountability mode immediately. Netanyahu said he was stunned and saddened, and there is already a criminal probe happening. The army even promised to help the village fix the statue. Compare that to how Christians are actually treated in the West Bank and Gaza.

In Gaza, the Christian community has basically been wiped out and now sits at fewer than 1,000 people. In Bethlehem, the population has crashed from 85 percent to only about 10 percent. A survey found that nearly half of Palestinian Christians feel discriminated against for jobs and 40 percent feel like Muslims do not even want them there. This is a slow, quiet exit driven by fear and social pressure that nobody in the media wants to talk about.

The double standard is the craziest part. While people freak out over one statue, they ignore actual violence against Christians by Palestinian terrorists. In October 2025, a young Christian named Elio Abou Hanna was shot dead at a Palestinian camp checkpoint in Beirut just because he missed a stop sign. There was no apology and no probe. Just a few weeks ago on April 7, Hezbollah and armed groups blocked a Vatican aid convoy led by Paolo Borgia while it was trying to bring food to Christian villages in the south. Meanwhile, the IDF is the one actually protecting those same villages and sending in food aid.

The media also ignores things like the firebombing of the Holy Redeemer Church in Jenin in December 2025 where extremists burned the nativity scene and the Christmas tree. They also overlook the systematic land theft in Bethlehem and Beit Jala, where Christian families are targeted by land mafias while the Palestinian Authority looks the other way. People talk about the vandalism of a statue but stay silent about the massacre of actual Christians in places like Damour or Chekka, where hundreds were killed by Palestinian and Hezbollah forces and no one ever apologized.

At the end of the day, Israel has a professional army that investigates its own mistakes. Israel is the only place in the Middle East where the Christian population, now over 180,000, is actually growing with full rights and citizenship. In the West Bank and Gaza, it is basically official policy to discriminate and drive them out. One idiot soldier doing something stupid is a crime in Israel, but for Palestinian terrorists, targeting Christians is the norm.

For self evident reasons, the photo, which by now you know what is meant without seeing it, has been everywhere. It comes across as the kind of scandal that, if valid, could obliterate any goodwill Israel has gotten the last few years. In terms of PR, the IDF will no longer be seen as having any real moral superiority to Hezbollah, Hamas, Syrian and Sudanese rival factions, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard or any other Middle Eastern army. That said, there's also reports of a real possibility of it being artificially generated somehow. For example, noting how the uniform elements from helmet to boots are not particularly accurate. If it is artificial, what would be reasons for generating it?

Is it true what former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Yair Golan, head of the Democratic Party in Israel, said—that the Israeli army was killing civilians in Gaza as a hobby and with the encouragement of Netanyahu's government? I asked this question on the Israeli subreddit, but the subreddit wants to flag comments where I ask such questions, so I want an answer to this question.

A common misconception is that Israel is an apartheid state, when that just isn’t the case, in fact I would argue it could be the other way round. If the goal of a ‘free Palestine’ is to establish an independent state, then the existence of borders, checkpoints, and security barriers should not be surprising. Every sovereign nation maintains controlled entry points, and Israel’s security measures, such as the separation barrier, are largely a response to past violence, including the Second Intifada.

Within Israel itself, Arab citizens who hold Israeli passports have legal rights, including voting and access to public institutions. They even have exemption from the Israeli military which puts them ahead in front of most people after High School. In contrast, Israeli Jews are generally prohibited from entering areas governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization. Additionally, access to dome of the rock is forbidden for Jews, and only accessible to Muslims, even though it is a very holy site for both religions. You could say THIS is apartheid actually

And if you are saying.. ‘but they don’t let Palestinians leave’ or they are ‘barricaded’ well they do first of all.. many people West Bank work and live their life in Israel every day, and as for Gaza, Israel quite literally left them an airport 20 years ago and then they elected a terrorist organisation as their government which means they closed their side of the border bc obviously it was a security concern. It was out of Egypts own will that they closed their side of the border too which barricaded Gaza. Israel has also participated in multiple negotiations and proposals aimed at establishing a Palestinian state, but the Arabs were the ones who said no. From what I understand they want the freedoms and perks of being Israeli Citizens but no Israel. Make it make sense.

I just don’t really understand where the apartheid is coming from, you are either an Israeli citizen or you ARENT therefore why would you be treated as one if you were to be let back in. It would be the same if a Chinese person came the checkpoint they would need to go through border checks because it’s not the same country.

I’m pro-Palestine, but I am genuinely trying to have a civil discussion about the conflict. I keep reading comments on news sites that “Palestinians voted for Hamas,” and then those same people claim “Palestinian society is entirely comprised by terrorists.” If I said that Israelis in particular were collectively responsible for Netanyahu actions and Jewish people in general were reasonable for Israel’s actions I would be called a “bigot” and “antisemite” and rightfully so. Why is it ok to make blanket statements about Palestinians and not Israelis?

Furthermore in regards to collective punishment- why is it ok for Israel to demolish Palestinian homes even if only one member of the family is suspected of having committed a crime? It is even done without trials or giving the accused access to attorneys. The Israelis also seize land (both private and state land) every time there’s a terrorist attack to build new settlements and outposts. If olive farmers complain about the loss of access to their farms the response is usually along the lines of “tell your people not to support terrorism.”

Another example of collective punishment is when how Israel restricts the rights of Christian and Muslim worshipers in Jerusalem any time the conflict flares. The latest incident was a diplomatic crisis between the

Israel’s government and the Vatican.

Israel’s supporters would be appalled if I said that “Israel’s government actions, by claiming to be done in the name of Judaism, are grounds to collectively punish Jewish people.” Why is it ok to advocate for collectively punishing Palestinians?

I want to start by saying that I am no historian or anything, I just feel incredible guilt if I don't show interest in the conflict (i feel like it makes me at fault and like I am personally killing people if I don't try to learn as much as possible - long story, doesn't matter. Mentioning it just for context)

From what I have searched, read, heard etc, both sides are at fault and both are perfectly correct. Both sides are ruled by radical politicians that are trying to protect themselves by literal human shields - aka people who have been lied to. Both Hamas and Netanyahu use fear as their way of "proving a point" pretty much. Both Palestinians and Israelis fear and/or hate eachother because (what looks like from the outside) propaganda.

I personally cannot chose a side. I get Israelis - they want a place where they are the majority because history shows that they aren't liked.

Palestinians are equally right - they want a safe place, that has (in the past 2000ish years) become their homeland. No one would like to be kicked out of their home. They want to keep their identity (preferably not in the way jews kept theirs - forcefully scattered around the world, because...well we can see why)

One one side - Israel is killing countless of civilians whixh, let's please all agree here - children have done nothing to no one and even if they have, not their fault.

On the other - as far as I have gathered, Hamas hides behind civilians, and while a lot of interviews show that the Israel army is...well...yes. Those casualties do make some kind of sense (not to say that the military is probably brainwashed in a sense)

There are good and bad people on both sides (as with anything) and I do think there are generally people who use this ehole thing as an excuse to either be antisemitists or islamophobic (or both atp)

As far as I understand (and have seen) both Palestinians and Israelis look similar, have a very mixed culture and walk (pretty much) the same land. Instead of celebrating, they are thought to be hateful and fearful.

I am sorry if this has sounded rude in any way, it is definitely not my intent. I have a huge sympathy for both sides and I do hope this ends as soon as possible with as little as possibly people dying. I am also sorry this is one of the most unstructured things I have posted, but I just find it so...weird in a sense. The more I learn about the history (i have a lot to learn but still) the more I wonder why we (humanity) are like this. This situation could happen anywhere in the world and has happened before. Why do we not learn?

Over the past 2.5 years, Israel has gone through multiple officially declared operations and wars. But it often feels, at least to me, like just before a major breakthrough or key objectives are reached, there’s a ceasefire or a push to stop for a plethora of reasons. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not by any means thirsty for blood, and I do not want to see civilians or soldiers suffer. Yet it still feels frustrating. My mind jumps to a conclusion that "we lost" because history has been repeating itself a lot these past couple of years and I'm not sure how to interpret it.

Today I celebrated an early Yom Ha’atzmaut - Israeli Independence Day. Before I went to sleep last night, I saw the a reel by Bill Clinton talking about the most generous offer Israel has ever made - an offer that Yasser Arafat rejected without even a counter offer.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDPVEHPR46C/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

After that I saw a reel where a worker for UNRWA - the UN body whose sole job was supposed to be the resettling of Palestinian refugees, explained how she has seen UNRWA turn Palestinian children into child soldiers for terrorist organizations like Hamas.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXEwvB0DaUN/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

I went to sleep thinking about what a tragedy it is that the world uses Palestinian children as a weapon against Israel at the expense of their own best interests for a war they will never win. I thought how the people of Israel would love nothing more than to finally experience peace that most of us in the western world take for granted.

When I went to sleep, I had a dream that I was able to bring world leaders together and explain just how toxic UNRWA and Hamas are, and that we were able to disband them and prevent any further generations of Palestinian children from being indoctrinated with hate against the Jewish people. In the dream, the Palestinian people had a wise, strong and selfless ruler who chose peace and established a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with a capital in East Jerusalem over a forever war where everyone loses, and no one wins understanding that he himself would become a likely target for assassination - something Yasser Arafat was never willing to do. In my dream the Israeli government was willing to make the type of offer Ariel Sharon and Ehud Barak would have made.

I had a dream that I was so convincing that even the skeptics on both sides - who were open minded in a way they had never been before in the wake of October 7th and the War with Gaza that followed - were willing to give up more than they wanted in the deal to finally make peace a reality in the context of a 2 state solution. Because the reality is neither Jews nor Palestinian has any place else to go, and neither of us would be willing to go anywhere else even if they could. We mine as well live our lives in peace, nothing else makes sense. There is no other long term solution to this conflict - why can’t today be the day that both sides take a definitive step towards peace by removing the impediments that have kept us trapped in war?

Muhammad bhar a 24-year-old Palestinian man with Down syndrome and autism who died after being mauled by an Israeli Oketz military dog in a Gaza Strip house during the Gaza war

Bhar, who had Down syndrome, autism, and speech difficulties, was unable to move without assistance from his family. According to his family, they had been displaced at least six times since the Gaza war erupted in late 2023. They stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raided the house where they were besieged on 3 July 2024; the forces included a combat dog which mauled Bhar's arm and chest. Israeli forces then separated Bhar from them, giving assurances that he would be treated by a military doctor, and later forced them to leave the house.

When the family returned to the house a week later, they found Bhar's bloodied, decaying body on the floor and a tourniquet on his arm. Israel later confirmed that the soldiers left Bhar in the apartment, saying they departed to help other injured soldiers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing\_of\_Mohammad\_Bhar

https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/islamic-relief-heartbroken-killing-mohammad-bhar-and-calls-investigation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9drj14e0lo

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/07/27/in-gaza-a-young-man-with-down-s-syndrome-was-killed-by-an-israeli-army-dog\_6701609\_4.html

I think the majority of people going out protesting have no idea how bad the footage from the October 7th massacre really was. I genuinely don’t understand how anyone could see what happened that day and still talk about supporting Hamas or calling it 'liberation.' In my opinion, anyone defending them is either completely ignoring reality or they simply haven’t seen the footage for themselves. What happened was not in any way 'resistance', it was terrorism in the most brutal form possible.

Israel needs to show the world exactly how evil the terrorists they are dealing with are, because too many people speak on this conflict without understanding what triggered this phase of it. Theres a lot of new movies and documentaries highlighting the Gaza side of the war (eg. voice of hind rajab which was nominated for an academy award) while the reality of October 7th is either downplayed or ignored entirely. If people actually saw the raw evidence, I think a lot of them would rethink the way they frame this situation

And honestly the defence has been light compared to what many other countries would do after an attack of THAT scale. Most nations would respond with overwhelming force if terrorists crossed their border, murdered civilians, kidnapped families, and celebrated it. Yet Israel is constantly judged by a different standard, which is also in my opinion, antisemitism, which is a discussion for another day..

I urge any Pro-Palestinians who have not watched an October 7th documentary or the available footage to do so first (NSFW, it is awful, so please be careful before searching). At least understand the horror that took place before making statements online. If there is ever going to be peace in the region, Hamas has to be eradicated, because no society can live next to a group committed to repeating atrocities like that again.

“UNICEF is outraged by the killing of two drivers of trucks contracted by UNICEF to provide clean water to families in the Gaza Strip.

“The victims were killed by Israeli fire in an incident that took place early this morning at the Mansoura water filling point in northern Gaza. UNICEF extends our condolences to the families of the men killed.”

Not on either side, just wondering what the official or unofficial justification is? Can’t find any justifications when I search for it online etc

Recently I watched one of Corey Gil-Shuster's videos and an Israeli said that Arab culture is close to the Israeli culture in terms of family-oriented values and stuff. And I almost choked on my coffee. Because this is not what I expected to hear based on all other stuff that I know about Israel. This to me sounded like something an Israeli new historian would say like "Arabs and Jews lived together and had similar cultures until Theodor Herzl brought European colonialism and Ashkenazim gaslighted Mizrahim that Jews are an outpost of civilization is the sea of barbarism and are superior to Arabs."

Western Zionists still have no shortage of racism against Arabs, whom they view as primitive third world rural people that stand in the way of expanding the great Judeo-Christian civilization. And while I understand that Israel simply tolerates not likes these people given how Europeans and Christians persecuted them the most among all people, I still expected to find in Israel merely some other form of racism and not that.

Ok, so the average person knows nothing. Average Israeli doesn’t knows that he lives on a destroyed Arab village and its former name. Doesn’t knows about discrimination or Israeli Arabs like how they kept on 2% of Israeli land by decades of racist Zoning laws made to prevent the territorial growth of Arab localities. But still, they had to hear enough about what's going on in your country.

So I don't understand. This interviewee was not the only one like that. Others did not expressed it in such words, but I also did not seen them express any "superior West vs primitive East" hostility. So then how do they then go and vote for Netanyahu or other war criminals that explicitly state "when I'll be in power, I will fight against the Palestinian demographic threat and Judaize our cities!". Or (I speculate): "I served in Lebanon and annihilated those civilian homes for Israel, making those Christians hate us for generations!'.

How is this system works? Are Israelis like Americans "I don't care about others, promise me social benefits and you can do imperialism"? Or how does the regime that breaks international laws so much (and probably sponsors whose Western racists or they sponsor it) manufactures consent from chill people who don't disrespect Arab culture? Are they just super vengeful? Like, Israelis are chill until somebody kills a few of them (there were lesser attacks then Oct 7 that still made them massacre thousands almost in a 100 of yours for every 1 of ours revenge ratio), then its time for collective punishments and they don't care about what conditions made Arabs do it? Extreme egoism while appreciating other cultures? Or not even that and they are not really interested in what their army does abroad at all?

Israeli war crimes continue unabated it seems. In Gaza we saw them bombing hospitals, sniping children ("It was almost a daily occurrence to have children arrive at the hospital with gunshot wounds to the head,” Ndal Farah, a doctor who worked in Gaza, says, adding, “I have been in other war zones, but this was exponentially worse than anything I’ve ever seen.” NYTimes), and designing software to intentionally bomb their targets while they're at home sleeping with their children with a program named "Where's Daddy?". We saw them use a triple tap on Nasser hospital in Gaza, reportedly to take out a journalist's DSLR camera that was on the roof. We saw the video of them attacking 14 medical workers in two ambulances and then literally bury the bodies, crush the ambulances, and bury those too. Yesterday, just a few days after Israel released its most intense ever barrage, killing almost 400 people in ten minutes, they quadruple tapped successive teams of rescue ambulances in south Gaza (text below). None of these war crimes have ever led to a single IDF soldier being punished beyond a demotion. Not one sentence of jail time, even after the very obvious and white World Central Kitchen workers were double tapped. By the way there is a full video of this attack on the rescue workers happening, it's awful to watch.

I'm here asking, why is IDF policy that war crimes are ok? Why are no rules being enforced?

Text below:

When they received the call to respond to an Israeli airstrike in the city of Mayfadoun, in southern Lebanon, most of the paramedics held back, having previously seen colleagues killed by double-tap attacks targeting rescuers. But the medics from the Islamic Health Association (IHA) rushed to the scene.

By the time the other emergency workers arrived at the site, they found the IHA medics had indeed been caught in a second strike. They started evacuating their wounded colleagues, only for their ambulances to be hit in two further attacks.

One of the paramedics covered his ears and screamed, convulsing in pain as shrapnel shattered the back window of the ambulance.

The rescue mission on Wednesday afternoon had turned into a nightmare as Israel carried out three consecutive strikes on three sets of ambulances and medical workers.

In total, the attacks killed four medics and wounded six more, from three different ambulance corps, according to medical sources. Three of the medics were from the Hezbollah-affiliated IHA and Amal-affiliated medical corps, while one was from the Nabatieh emergency services organisation. Under international law, all medics are protected and are considered non-combatants, regardless of political affiliation.

Israel has so far killed 91 healthcare workers and wounded 214 more in Lebanon since the Israel-Hezbollah war started on 2 March. It has given little justification for its repeated attacks on medical infrastructure and workers, apart from accusing Hezbollah of using ambulances and hospitals to transport fighters and weapons, without providing evidence for the claim.

The Lebanese ministry of health accused Israel of deliberately targeting ambulance crews. “Paramedics have become direct targets, pursued relentlessly in a blatant violation that confirms a total disregard for all norms and principles established by international humanitarian law,” the ministry said in a statement.

I watched a podcast the other day by a famous influencer who made a very interesting point, which I would like to share with the sub.

The influencer was asked - do you believe in conspiracy theories?

His answer- no. I believe in conspiracies, but I don’t believe in conspiracy theories.

What’s the difference?

Here’s the difference-

Conspiracies are real. They happen all the time.

Conspiracy theories are “theories”. They exist nowhere but in the minds of conspiracy theorists.

Without real evidence, a conspiracy theory is nothing but a wild, twisted, frenzied dream conceived in the minds of people who have no clue what they’re talking about.

With real evidence, a conspiracy theory is no longer a “theory” but rather a serious issue, that needs to be investigated and stopped.

It’s a very important distinction, and it’s important to understand it when discussing the Israeli Palestinian and Israeli Iranian conflicts.

In our case, we have one case uncovering one conspiracy after another, providing clear and convincing evidence that the conspiracy is real.

For example, it is a fact that Hamas secretly weaponized Gaza hospitals, education institutions, and welfare institutions.

That’s a real conspiracy because it’s backed by evidence.

How is it a fact?

Israel’s government and independent media have released photo, video, and documentary evidence about Hamas’ infiltration into the humanitarian infrastructure in Gaza. They published videos of underground bunkers (terror tunnels). They published photos of hostages inside hospitals dragged at gun point by terrorists. They have interviewed many hostages who told their stories, including how they were tortured inside hospitals, by journalists, by children, and so forth.

So this infiltration into humanitarian networks is a conspiracy, by Hamas. But it’s NOT a conspiracy theory.

In contrast, we have conspiracy theories by the other side. We have wild conspiracy theories about Israel selling Palestinian body parts. Mossad attack dolphins. Jewish space laser. We have the theory that Trump is fighting the war in Iran not because of what the Iranian government did in the past but because of Chabad, a network of Jewish synagogues with no ties to policymaking.

All these are conspiracy theories because they are not backed by any evidence.

With the hospitals too we have conspiracy theories. Israel gave truly incredible evidence on how Hamas kidnapped Gaza’s humanitarian system. Hostage interviews, tunnel footage, dozens of documents captured by ground troops fighting inside this terrorist hornet nest.

The U.S. intelligence agencies and others have always known and confirmed the existence of the Hamas conspiracy. This is because there is very strong evidence for that conspiracy,

How is the other side contending with all these facts?

Conspiracy theories. By making up stories without any evidence.

The videos are AI. The videos edited. The hostages are lying. The documents were manufactured by Israel. The weapons were planted by the IDF.

None of these people ever came up with any evidence. Rather, to prove their conspiracy theories they go into a rabbit hole of more conspiracy theories. The deeper they go into the realm of conspiracy theory, the more antisemitic they sound.

They start innocent enough, sometimes. “Hospitals are bombed, and I don’t support it”.

Then, when presented with evidence of why the hospitals are targeted, they have no real answers. Most times, their answers start veering off to the realm of conspiracy theory.

Israel says “hospitals are targeted because our hostages were brutally tortured there.”

Then they’ll say “the hostages lie. There were no rapes. There was no torture.”

Israel will say - “we have photo evidence”

They’ll response “you planted it”

Israel says “we have video evidence”

Response “you made it up using sophisticated technology”

“You control the media”

Your videos and hostage tapes are out there because you control the media and control the world.

And AIPAC, and even Chabad are thrown into the mix.

And then - you killed Kennedy. You killed Jesus.

And slowly you, like with a Russian matryoshka, 🪆, one conspiracy after another, you see what’s really happening inside.

So there you have it. The anti Israel side is driven by conspiracy theories.

Not the first time Jews are at the receiving end of some kind of conspiracy theory, is it?

One thing I will say many critics of Israel are essentially right about, is this: Israel is a militarized society.

In typical Western countries like the United States or Europe it is normative that when one finishes high school they either enter the work force or of course focus on higher education. In Israeli society, things are a bit different; conscription to the IDF is of course mandatory, yet nowadays if one really does not want to serve they could find a way. Serving in the military for three years is without a doubt the norm. But the way Israeli society engages with their army is different than many other countries in some sense. In the West, a professional army is typical, where a soldier hardly sees home, and civilians witnessing soldiers is a relatively rare sight. In Israel, a common sight is to see a significant amount of college aged boys or girls with AirPods at train stations on Sunday mornings - the start of the Israeli work week, heading off to their bases (for a week, a couple of weeks, or even a day depending on what they do) in a country the size of New Jersey. You often observe middle aged women giving these uniformed personnel treats on their way. It is typical to see children in outside military exhibits climbing on tanks for display and talking with IDF soldiers on Independence Day. It is common to witness driven teenagers exercising in structured groups seeking to conscript to the special forces. It is ordinary to see daddy going away for reserve duty every now and then. It’s also noteworthy that contrary to what may be perceived, roughly 90% of IDF soldiers are “Jobnics” (from English “Job”) who aren’t in a combat role. Thus their position feels more like a job in a uniform. Soldiers do get paid, but it’s a symbolic amount, much less than the minimum wage.

Aside from the melting pot of nationalized service that is the IDF, there are plenty other ways one can contribute to the state as someone who just finished high school. Religious girls can choose to take part in “Sherut Leumi” (national service) instead of going to the army, which may present itself in something like helping at a hospital in those years of your life. It is also increasingly common to delay your service in the army and go to “mechina” (preparatory): a gap year of sorts of informal education, where one has fun and self improves themselves for the army or life in general. You could even delay the army by one year and go to Sherut Leumi. After a usually exhausting three years in the army it is typical of young Israelis to travel to Latin America or the Far East for a few months, then enter higher education only around the early to mid 20’s.

What the IDF helped create, I think, is this conception that one needs to contribute to the state, in some way. Going to college at 18 isn’t absolutely unheard of, but there is this sentiment, “what about contributing - Somehow?” Which is perplexing to me because beginning a degree early may actually contribute to the state more than many of the positions in the IDF or Sherut Leumi. But those positions are seen as you giving from yourself, so it is placed on a higher shelf. 

Israel is often compared to militarized states like Prussia (jokingly said by Voltaire to be an army with a state) whether as a compliment or not. Benjamin Netanyahu himself rhetorically said Israel needs to “act like Sparta” - to be strong and independent out of necessity. “Militarized” or not, there definitely is more of this sentiment that one ought to contribute in some sense, ideally in a national service. This does not imply authoritarianism, just a different sociological structure where military service interacts with civilian life and blurs those lines.

The question that arises from this topic is how much of this was driven by necessity. It can be easy to forget that Israelis who are in favor of the mandatory draft are essentially only referring to Israel. They wouldn’t hold those beliefs if they were living in Norway. The situation, whether at war or simply peacetime security conditions, demands a lot of manpower. Would contemporary Israel be able to function as a typical professional army? Can the army make that change? I don’t know, but I like to think that the answer is yes. As the common IDF expression goes, “there is no ‘I can’t’, only ‘I don’t want to’.”