Cultural Diversity In The Military Essay

Israel, as a nation of immigrants from so many countries, has a great deal of cultural diversity. People arriving from the former USSR, United States, Ethiopia, Yemen, Morocco, France, India, Britain, Germany, Poland, Australia, and, of course, native Israelis, would be hard pressed to get along at a party, let alone as a unit that must go into combat together and count on each other to protect their lives. The army, however, serves as a unifying force, a force that forges these diverse elements into one unified nation. “The army is the threshold people need to cross to join Israeli society,” said Brig. General Avigdor Kahalani.

(Former?) Immigration Minister, Ya’acov Edri, said, “Army service is the rite of passage into Israeli society” (Jerusalem Post, August 17, 2007).

New immigrants speak of their desire to enlist, not only for pure

A warrior never leaves himself unprotected or exposed.

The “Neighborhood Watch”

Most communities in Israel have round-the-clock security. It is the citizen’s responsibility to protect his own community. As such, each male citizen is assigned a shift; from 9 pm to 12 am, from 12 to 3 or from 3 to 6 am. He will be joined by several other men and will be driven around in a jeep. From time to time, he will get out and patrol by foot. When I explained this to a friend visiting from the United States, he commented, “Oh like a neighborhood watch. We have that too!”

I said, “Not exactly, here everyone will be handed an M-16 rifle and will be expected to be familiar with how to fire it and how to use it as a blunt weapon. Here every citizen is assumed to have completed at least basic military training in the IDF. Many have served in the Russian or other armies as well; most have combat experience. No, this is not your ordinary ‘neighborhood