Israel's Arab soldiers who fight for the Jewish state
By
Jane Corbin BBC News, Jerusalem
Israel and the Palestinians
It is dawn in the Negev desert and Mahmud Kashua is saying his first
prayers of the day - a gun by his side. Mahmud is one of a growing number of
Israeli Arabs who have volunteered to serve in the army of the Jewish state.
"I consider myself an Arab and a
Muslim but I also consider myself part of this country," Mahmud tells me
during a break in live fire practice on the range. "It's our state and we
have to give back, to help as much as we can to the state which protects us."
Over six months a BBC Arabic
documentary team gained extraordinary access to the Gadsar - an all-Arab unit
of 500 within the Israeli Defence Force. Ten times as many Israeli Arabs -
Muslims and Christians - are joining the IDF compared to three years ago.
"Our mission is to enlist as
many as we can," says Col Wajdi Sarhan, head of the IDF Minorities Unit.
"We have a few hundred and we want to double that in the next year."
Twenty per cent of Israel's
population is Arab but only about 1% of them serve in the army. Enlisting is
controversial in many of their communities.
Hanin Zoabi is an Israeli Arab MP who
identifies herself as Palestinian and is a fierce critic of the state.
"This small marginalised group
that serves in the Israeli army which serves Israel against its people knows
they are crossing a patriotic red line," she says.
"Ninety per cent of the Arabs
who serve in the Israeli army don't have equality with Israelis. Israel does
not need them to protect its security, it's a political issue - first to divide
and rule."
'Serving
the occupation'
We followed the Gadsar as it became
the first Israeli Arab unit ever to serve on the occupied West Bank, home to
1.7 million fellow Arabs - Palestinians.
It is a tense time - in the past
year, 37 Israelis have been killed in a wave of knife, gun and car-ramming
attacks by Palestinians or Israeli Arabs.
More than 200 Palestinians - mostly
attackers, Israel says - have also been killed in that period.
At a checkpoint between two Israeli
settlements, Mohammed Ayashi, a Muslim soldier, is stopping some Palestinian
cars.
"Sometimes it is hard because I
am an Arab like them and they look down on me but in the end I am doing my job
and I have to do this," Mohammed says. "Some people from the way they
answer us you can tell they can't stand us - they look down on us with
contempt."
One driver says he understands
Mohammed is just doing his duty and is free to do as he wants but another is
clearly angry.
"We wish an Arab soldier
wouldn't do this - we are all Arabs," says the driver. "We consider
him a Palestinian and he is serving the army of occupation. I don't know what
to make of it."
'Aid
to integration'
On the Gadsar base Mahmud and the
other new recruits take the oath of allegiance to Israel. His parents and
fiancee are there to see him swear on the Koran as he is given his own gun.
"I'm proud of him - this is his
choice and we back him. We are happy and he is happy," says his father,
Jamil Kashua.
Back at home in an Arab town in
northern Israel there is a barbeque in Mahmud's honour. But he will only wear
his uniform when he is in the family compound.
"A few guys saw me wearing the
uniform and told me that I'm a traitor. I told them that's my own business but
I don't care what others say," Mahmud says.
"If I'm a traitor then why is he
living in this state?"
In contrast to many of his friends
Mahmud gets a good salary as a soldier. Unlike Jewish recruits he can apply for
a grant of land to set up his own home.
"Guys who go to the army have a
good position and live comfortably," says Jamil. "The army supports
them financially and their lives move forward."
For the Israeli government increasing
the number of Arabs in the army is key to integration of the two communities.
"We are doing our utmost to
integrate minorities into the army to maintain the status quo
demographically," says Col Sarhan. "Serving in the army is a great
platform to connect the Muslim community to the state."
Security
for the future
Some Israeli Arab politicians accuse
the government of bribery. "Israel is after people to serve in the army
who are poor and have no work," says Hanin Zoabi.
"Fifty-two to 54% of our
Palestinian people in Israel are under the poverty line - and the government's
policy of creating poverty obliges people to look for the only solution they
can."
The peace process is not going
anywhere it seems - the two state solution is still a distant prospect - so
many young Arabs see integration into the Israeli military as their future.
"Ten people from my town are
serving in the army now. I have friends who want to enlist," says Mahmud.
"I encourage everyone to join - to improve his or her life and look to
their future."
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