The New Face of the IDF

History was made today when Cpl. Elinor Jozef, became the first female Arab combat solider in the Israeli Defense Forces.

A little bit of history was made today when Cpl. Elinor Jozef, became the first female Arab combat solider in the history of the Israeli Defense Forces.

Born and raised in an integrated neighborhood of Jews and Arabs in Haifa, Jozef attended a school in which all her classmates were Arab. She currently resides in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas in northern Israel. Jozef’s father also served in the IDF.

Before enlisting in the IDF, Jozef said:

I was scared to lose my friends because they objected to it. They told me they wouldn’t speak to me. I was left alone.

However, despite their opposition, she decided to enlist and explained her motive:

I decided to go head-to-head, to check who my true friends are, to do something in life that I have never done before. I understood that it was most important to defend my friends, family, and country. I was born here.

After her basic training, Jozef, who was selected as the outstanding soldier of the course and received a special commendation, was posted as a medic within the military police at the Qalqilya crossing. This dilemma of being posted in such a location did not escape Jozef, who says that during such difficult periods she would remember:

there was a Katyusha [rocket] that fell near my house and also hurt Arabs. If someone would tell me that serving in the IDF means killing Arabs, I remind them that Arabs also kill Arabs.

It would not be too difficult to imagine how a young Christian Arab girl like Jozef may have had some identity issues in serving for the IDF on behalf of the Jewish state. However resolutely, she replies:

I know I am part of the Jewish state’s army and therefore when we speak about that I listen and learn. I got used to it and I respect it, although I do not delve too much into the country’s identity – I have my own identity and I will respect that of the country.

Jozef clearly believes in the purpose and cause of her mission to help protect the State of Israel and says:

I believe in what I am doing...[a]t the end of the day, this will always be my home too.

It almost belies the fact that Jozef is probably no more than 20 years old. She displays a level of courage and moral conviction that one just can’t help but admire.

Tellingly, Jozef does not distinguish between Jew, Arab, Muslim or Christian – in as much as the katyusha rockets from across the border do not make the same distinction either. For her they are all equal; they are all Israelis. And so too is she.