In the True Life special about the Israeli-Arab conflict, one individual stood out to me the most. That person was Tal, the Israeli soldier. His life revolves around preventing Palestinians from continuing their Intifada, while preventing innocent Palestinians from living a normal life in the process. I find it admirable and inspiring that despite seeing his friends die at the hands of angry Palestinians, he still sees the whole picture, and wants a two-state solution. You know that someone is a true, fair soul when they are able to prevent one incident caused by a person of a specific ethnicity or gender to elicit feelings of hatred and vengeance towards that group. I also felt like he sounded like he regrets some of the things he must do as a soldier, and is proved evident when it is disclosed that he will leave Israel and travel the world after his military term is over.
Obviously, not even our soldiers can truly compare to the lives of the Israeli Defense Force. They sleep with their machine guns by their sides, knowing that any moment a bomb could detonate, a shot could be fired, or a throat could be slit. They all also don't necessarily support the cause, as they are forced into the military. In our society, joining the military is an act of bravery and patriotism. In Israel, nothing is thought of it, and it is as normal to them as going to high school is for us. The fact is, if Israel wants to maintain their country, they must have a semi-militaristic approach of governing the land in order to preserve it from imminent destruction.
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I agree with what you said about joining the military in Israel. In America, if someone joins the military it is considered to be patriotic and is respected. In Israel, everyone must join the defense force, so it isn't anything special.
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