Monday, August 26, 2002

The situation is not good, but let’s not make generalizations about Israeli Arabs.
The Israeli Air Force magazine (via Ynet) has the story of two Israeli Arab brothers who both serve as adjutancy N.C.O.’s in the Air Force, one in an F-16 squadron and the other in a Sikorsky CH 53 (“Yas’oor”) helicopter squadron. One of them has even tattooed his squadron emblem on his shoulder. They have seen operational action in the Gaza strip (one of them was an infantryman before changing to Air Force) and in South Lebanon. The one who works in the F-16 squadron waited for four months for his security clearance. He never believed an Arab would be accepted to a combat squadron and he was delighted to find he had been wrong. The brothers, who are Christian Arabs, say there are other young boys from their village who plan to enlist.