Hey, I am Gil, 25 years old from Israel.
For a long time I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about, so I decided just to talk about my daily life in Israel.
Well, for a long time (24 years) I lived in a town called Nazareth Illit. A nice Jewish town side by side with Nazareth – yes the town from the Bible.
I grew up there, school and stuff, used to play football with friends and I even had a nice Arab friend I used to play with.
When I turned eighteen I joined the army. Almost every Jewish boy and girl goes to the army after they finish high school. Unlike many countries in the world we have to serve in the army to protect our country.
I had a nice three-year-service in a computer unit – it passed quickly. For many of us who served in the army we feel and say that the army kinda forced us to grow up.
Anyway, after that period of time in my life I worked for a year in a mall between the two towns, many Arabs and Jews work there. A nice and friendly place.
I then moved to Tel Aviv to study computer science and work.
I can’t stop thinking about what I would have done with the three years I ”spent” when I served in the army, I could have finished college, travelled the world and so on…
But Israel is a special little place and I still wonder what is wrong with this world: after World War 2 not a lot of stuff has changed – people and countries still want the Jews to be eliminated from the world, and yes after 60+ years in this country and a history of over 3000 years they still don’t think we deserve to be here.
So yea, this is how I realize and accept that these three years in the army weren’t a waste.
I truly believe and hope that in twenty years my kids won’t have to serve in the army, but live side by side with the Arabs just like when I was little.
But if it will be needed I’ll send my kids to serve in the army, just like my father sent me, the same way he served thirty years ago.
Gil