From 1950-66, Israel spent an average 9% of its GDP on defense. This has risen to about 21.5% today. Contrast this with the United States, which spends about 4% of its GDP on the military. This enormous burden for Israel exists because several of its neighbors want it dead, gone, annihilated, driven to the sea, from its very birth in 1947 until today.(This post burned up the net, so I'm keeping the girls at the top of my blog for awhile.
The wars of Israel* are part of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which started before the State's establishment as conflict between Jews and Arabs in Palestine and developed into a conflict between Israel, the Arab states and the Palestinians.The wars of Israel are:
1948 Arab-Israeli War (see also: 1949 Armistice Agreements)
1956 Suez War also known as "Operation Kadesh".
1967 Six-Day War.
1970 War of Attrition.
1973 Yom Kippur War.
1982 Lebanon War also known as "Operation Peace of the Galilee".
1987-1990 First Intifada.
1990/1 Gulf War.
al-Aqsa Intifada, and now the
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
One consequence of Israel’s military need is that it conscripts females. These are the girls of the IDF, and they’re hot. Not just because they are like any female teenagers in the world, but also because they are dangerous, yet full of hope and life, smiling in the face of horror.
Following their active service, women, like men, in combat roles, serve one month annual reserve duty. Apart from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, when manpower shortages saw many of them active in ground battles, women have been barred from combat, serving instead in support roles. But after a landmark 1994 High Court appeal by Alice Miller, a Jewish immigrant from South Africa, the Air Force was ordered to open its pilot training to women. Miller failed the entrance exams, but since her initiative, many additional combat roles were opened. As of 2005, women are allowed to serve in 83% of all positions in the military, including Shipboard Navy Service (except submarines), and Artillery. Combat roles are voluntary for women.
As of 2002, 33% of lower rank Officers are women, 21% of Captains and Majors, but only 3% of the most senior ranks. 450 women currently serve in combat units of Israel's security forces, primarily in the Border Police. The first female fighter pilot received her wings in 2001.
I personally knew several of the girls from the IDF, and, yes, a few I knew very well, two in particular, Amalia and Iki. Amalia was from Bat Yam, and Iki came from a kibbutz. Amalia was a schoolteacher, and Iki a gym owner and fitness instructor. They both were sweet and innocent, like many of the girls from the IDF. They loved people and life, their families, and friends. They had nothing against Arabs, except they didn’t understand why the Arabs hated them. They wanted only one thing, to live their lives in peace. They spent most of their waking moments enjoying life, not thinking of war.
I was in the Middle East until 1988. The period from 1978 to 1988 was a golden age for Israel, being the time of peace with Egypt. But just as I was leaving, the Intifada was starting. Since then, despite all the good-faith efforts of the Israelis giving back legally conquered lands, their neighbors continue to attack them. It is one of the worst times for Israel right now, with missiles raining on their cities and the world hating them.
Yet life goes on. When I see the pictures of these women, there is something wonderful about them, and yet strangely odd, like, these young people shouldn’t have to be doing this. Yet, the girls from the IDF remain smiling, laughing, full of the joy of life, and yes, some of the hottest females on the planet. Protect me baby.
For more girls of the IDF, see this Flicker site.
(*Wikipedia is always my source unless indicated.) This Post’s Technorati Tags: Israel, IDF, Israeli female soldiers, Israeli wars, Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestine, Intifida, truth
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9 comments:
Clearly your most beautiful post to date- you undercover perv you! You gotta love a woman in uniform and I agree that there is something very exotic about women soldiers. Nice post and I'll be checking out your online political circle when I get back to ATL.
Hey paz, yes that's me, dirty ol conservative. They are beautiful, and that's how I remember them. Uniforms do something for both men and women I guess.
The ring is just starting, and I'd really like some great liberal sites like yours. I know you cover a lot more than politics, but that's the beauty of the left that is sometimes missing from right-wingers.
Take care.
Hey! I thought you wanted MORE political stuff, not less. :-)
Check out the Conservative Christians blog link on my sidebar. He is way more conservative AND political than I am. Give him the invitation. And put yourself in the ring!
Thanks for the advice. I'll take you up on it. I'm putting myself in the ring right now.
Take care Henry.
Hey! I thought you wanted MORE political stuff, not less. :-)
Sorry, Henry, sometimes I'm a little slow. I just got what you're talking about. I'm just trying to add some variety to the Ring, and there are several artist-types on the left. Though I'm a true neo-con, I love artists, writers, and artistic types. I didn't mean to denigrate the right. I naturally feel kinship with them, because they seem to get the big picture these days. The purpose of the ring, though, is to listen to all sides. We don't have to change our minds, just be polite, respectful, and honest. I'm really only after the truth, which I'm sure you are too.
Have a good day.
Rock, I think that you have failed yourself with the emotionality you added, almost postscript, to this piece.
You were doing pretty well with the facts, too, giving unslanted information in this article. Many Americans are ignorant of the IDF. But just as I was munching away on your stats, you derailed your own piece by going sexist!!! How do you really figure that sweet and innocent belongs in this article?
Come on....stick with the facts and the truth! Admit it -- when have you ever read an article about how sweet and innocent our soldiers are when they've enlisted?
Thanks, Lynn, for your honest comments. I value this kind of feedback.
I can see how it might come across as sexist. I do remember them, though, as being particularly sweet human beings. I find it sad that they have to be in the army in the first place. They have no choice. I think if the world sees Israelis as human beings, then maybe they won't be so quick to demonize them.
I think there is a contrast between this kind of civilian and the kind you see in terrorist armies, which cover their faces and thirst for blood.
I'll keep your comments in mind, though, and try to learn from feedback like this.
Thanks again.
Rock
Sounds like you really have enough experience for another article -- one that covers the personal side of their struggle. Write it, full of descriptions. Tell us the story through your eyes!!
Lynn, thanks again for your comments and suggestions. They are valuable. I will do what I can. I'm already spending hours on this blog daily. When and if it becomes a paying proposition I can spend more time and add more detail. The feedback, though, let's me know in what direction I might need to go.
Have a good day.
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