Arab-Israelis Risk Ridicule Serving in the Israeli Army

In Israel, all secular Jewish men and women, as well as Druze men are drafted into the Israel Defense Forces at the age of 18. Ultra-Orthodox Jews are exempt because of what’s called the Tal Law, which allows them to forgo national service to pursue religious study.

During the summer, the Israeli High Court of Justice found the Tal Law exemptions unconstitutional, re-launching the perennial debate of whether all citizens of Israel should be required to serve. The argument includes the possible conscription of Arab-Israelis, who are also exempt, though some do volunteer for military service.

During my two years serving in the IDF, the fact that there were Muslim soldiers serving alongside Jewish soldiers never struck me as odd. Even when I was stationed in the West Bank, I never thought anything of the fact that on a night raid they would surely come into contact with fellow Muslims, but they would be on the “other side”.

It didn’t occur to me that this particular situation might be uncomfortable for them. Aside from their Arabic language skills, to me they were no different than any other soldier on base who joked around with their friends and flirted with the girls.

Now that I’m living in the United States again and watching Israel from the outside, I realize that the whole concept of Muslim soldiers in a Jewish army probably seems counter-intuitive to most people. It might surprise people to know that there are thousands of Muslims in the Israeli army.

It’s true that the majority of these soldiers are Druze (a sect related to Islam), who are conscripted as Israeli citizens along with Israel’s Jewish citizens. But several hundred of these Muslim soldiers are Bedouin volunteers.

Though the IDF couldn’t provide exact figures, it is believed that around 10 percent of army-age Bedouins volunteer to serve. The majority are placed in the Trackers unit, which makes use of their knowledge of the land, or the Bedouin-only infantry battalion.

Reenat Sinay while serving in the Israel Defense Forces. (Photo courtesy of Sinay)

Abdallah Grifat, 29, from Zarzir in northern Israel is a former Paratrooper who served in places like Hebron and Nablus in the West Bank. Before speaking with him I expected to hear stories about how awkward his encounters with Palestinians were and how conflicted he felt about the whole thing. What I found out, however, was something quite different.

Of course a single Bedouin soldier cannot speak for all Bedouin soldiers, but as a former volunteer soldier myself I know that it takes an extraordinary sense of purpose to give two or three years of your life to a service that most others have no choice but to give.

Even so, I was surprised to hear that Grifat is a proud Israeli citizen, and that he felt it his duty to protect his country.

Perhaps because he is a Muslim, I assumed he must feel some sort of opposition to Jewish control of Israel. There have been numerous tussles between Bedouins and the Israeli authorities that would confirm this assumption. But Grifat assured me the decision to serve in the IDF was an easy one for him. His family has a long tradition of serving in the army, and they encouraged him to do his best.

Although he says he was one of many from his village to volunteer, Grifat was not the typical Bedouin soldier. He was a 24-year-old college grad starting military service among a sea of fresh-faced 18-year-olds. As if that weren’t enough to make him stand out, he says he was the first Bedouin soldier in the elite – and nearly all-Jewish – Paratroopers unit since the 1980s.

When I asked Grifat about his experiences with Palestinians as part of a Jewish army, he told me that he didn’t feel any ambivalence about it at all. He took an oath to follow orders, and that’s what he did. Actually, he found that his understanding of their language and traditions was actually an advantage, not a source of controversy. He was able to act as translator for both parties and limit any dangerous miscommunication.

Though Grifat says he felt like any other soldier in the group, his presence was sometimes confusing for the Palestinians he came into contact with.

Later in his service, Grifat was promoted to squad commander; a position reserved for the best soldiers in each division, and in many cases a preliminary step to officer training. Here again he used his diversity to his and his soldiers’ advantage:

*Grifat explained to me that Bedouins as a community are different from Palestinians and other Muslim Arabs in the country. They have different customs, a distinct accent, and mainly live in small villages separate from other Arabs. Some still keep the traditional Bedouin tents. There is also a difference between the southern Bedouins, who have in many cases been forced to curb their nomadic culture, and northern Bedouins who are more willingly integrated into Israeli society.