“The army has to understand that feelings are the most important thing.”
Ramat Aviv, December 4 – A group of twelfth-graders in an upscale section of Israel’s hippest metropolis spent time this afternoon discussing their upcoming military service, and inquired whether the army provides environments free of ideas or experiences likely to challenge the validity or applicability of their cherished liberal worldview.
Upperclassmen at Yosi Sarid High School in North Tel Aviv had an open question-and-answer session with an IDF draft officer, in advance of their expected induction into mandatory service next year. Wary of venturing into contexts where their progressive upbringing and values might not find congruence with observed reality, the students sought to ascertain whether like their parents, the IDF takes significant steps to shield them from viewpoints or encounters at odds with progressive thought.
“We’ve become accustomed to a certain comfort level in our discourse,” explained Dor Tahapukhot, 17, who expects to serve in an intelligence unit because, he said, at least at a desk job he would not have to interact directly with the religious zealot extremists in the Occupied Territories who have no respect for democratic values or the rule of law. “The army has to understand that, and accommodate our feelings, because feelings are the most important thing.”
“It’s been years since I had to deal with any serious challenge to my way of seeing the world, and I’m not about to just throw that away,” added Annie Frekha, also a senior. “Daddy always makes sure I have the option of engaging only with people and ideas in my comfort zone. I hope the IDF understands my needs, and by extension, the needs of the entire incoming class of 2017 – we’re a woke bunch.”
Major Gad Helpus, the recruitment officer, described the meeting as productive. “It was important for me and my fellow officers to hear the concerns of some of our future soldiers,” he pronounced while they were still within earshot. Then, after leaving the school facility, he continued, “Holy #$%, what a bunch of snowflakes. They are in for one rude awakening after another.”
Helpus insisted it was not his place to disabuse the students then and there of the notion that they can shield themselves from unpleasant ideas or facts in the army. “Once they’re in the IDF, no problem, but until then, any failure to prepare these participation-trophy-awardees for a non-cloistered life belongs squarely to their parents. I did, however, invite the students to visit an army base and a naval training facility, and they expressed what seemed to be genuine interest after I assured them we would not force them to interact with anyone outside their chosen demographic.”
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