By Justin Arnold
Northeastern students had the opportunity to hear two soldiers from the Israeli Defense Force share their real-life experiences in the military on Thursday at the Curry Student Center. The soldiers visited NU courtesy of Hillel and Students for Israel.
According to Program Coordinator and Northeastern student Josh Parker, the soldiers were picked by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to come to America to “show the IDF rules of restraint, and to show the humility of the army.”
“We wanted to show that the IDF has a personal face, a face that students can connect with,” Parker said. “Our goal was for students on campus to see behind the international media and instead see a face they can connect with.”
The soldiers spoke to NU students with the presence of two Northeastern police officers, whom they requested for security measures.
The presentation started with a short movie produced by IDF Spokesperson Video called “Palestinian Terror in Israel.” The video showed footage of bombing sites and personal accounts from friends and relatives of people killed in terrorist attacks.
The two soldiers, one male and one female, each gave a presentation after the video. Due to the IDF rules, no names or direct quotes from the soldiers can be printed.
The female soldier is a 22-year-old liaison officer in charge of 1,200 soldiers. She focused her speech on the activities of Israel’s military that do not involve combat. She spoke about the welfare, educational and religious missions of the army. She said that the military serves a much broader role in society than just fighting. It helps to make Israel a better place by training recruits to be better people and to serve society, she said.
The male soldier is a 26-year-old captain and Air Force Pilot. He has been in the military since he was 18, a stay far beyond the 3 years required of all men in Israel. From his speech, it was clear that he loves being in the Air Force, and he believes completely that his actions as a part of the Israeli Army are just.
He spoke of how angry he was at each terrorist attack and made it clear that he thinks the Israeli Army uses great restraint in its missions. He mentioned that Israel has independent non-military investigations in each instance when Palestinian civilians are killed, and that many operations have been canceled because there were too many civilians at risk.
The event ended with the soldiers encouraging the students to get involved in the media both at Northeastern and elsewhere. The soldiers want students in the media to counteract the bias they perceive in the international media in favor of the Palestinians.
This event was the second in a series of three put on by Northeastern Hillel and Students for Israel.
