“Why Thousands of Muslims are Joining the Israeli Army: Insights from Ella Wayeya and Others | CNBC Indonesia News”

CNBC Insight

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – When she was in her teens, Ella Wayeya, an Arab Muslim who lived amidst a sea of ​​Jews, experienced an identity crisis. He was always confused when asked about his origins and no one could enlighten him.

He could not go around answering “I am of Arab Muslim descent who is also an Israeli citizen.” This is because her family has strong emotional feelings when Palestine receives harsh treatment from Israel which is then imprinted in Ella’s mind.

But, on the other hand, he also has to accept the fact that this treatment was carried out by the country where he grew and developed, namely Israel. If it were correct to answer like that, it is likely that he would be ridiculed, both from his environment and his family.

Until finally, clarity regarding identity emerged when he was 16 years old. The government officially, through an identity card, stipulates that Ella Wayeya has Israeli citizenship. From here, he was determined to serve the country.

Even so, it is not easy for Ella, who is a super minority (of Arab descent, Islam, and women) to go against environmental norms and family views. Moreover, the path of service he chose was truly anti-mainstream: joining the Israeli army (Israel Defense Forces, IDF), which has always been in the negative spotlight of many people.

“For the first 18 months, I kept it a secret [Kepada keluarga] that I joined the army. Until finally this secret was discovered by my mother who found IDF uniforms in the room. He immediately started crying,” Ella, who entered the army in 2013, told Jewish News Syndicate.

Practically, the exposure of her membership in the IDF made Ella get extraordinary sentiment and ridicule from the environment. However, that did not shake his choice.

“I am already happy and in love with the Israeli flag,” he said Al Majalla.

Now, Ella is seen as an accomplished warrior. In less than 10 years she has held the rank of Captain and made her the first Muslim-Arab woman to be able to achieve this title.

Ella’s story is actually just one of thousands of other Muslims who joined the Israeli army.

Two to three decades ago it was almost impossible for Arab-Israelis to choose the military as a career path. But now here’s a fact that might surprise people and not be accepted by everyone: those who are predominantly Muslim actually enlist in the Israeli army in large numbers.

As displayed The Jerussalem Post, official data for 2020 compiled by the IDF noted that there were 606 Arab-Muslims who joined. This figure has increased from 2019 of 489 people and 2018 of 436 people.

In a special report Al Majalla entitled “Exclusive: IDF – ‘Our Mission is to Enlist as Many Israeli Arabs as we can'” (2022), it is known that the IDF succeeded in recruiting 130-350 Bedouins who are predominantly Muslim and 40-100 soldiers from various villages and towns with a majority Muslim population , to become soldiers. The police sector also noted the same thing, namely 20% of applicants in 2021 will be Muslims.

Even, BBC in 2016 it was written that the increase in the number of soldiers from the Arab-Israeli community led the IDF to form a team called Gadsar. Gadsar has around 500 soldiers of Arab descent, both Muslim and Christian. They serve in the West Bank, one of the hot spots in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli government actually does not oblige the Arab-Israeli and Bedouin communities to join military service. However, the government also did not close the door for them if they wanted to take up arms. It was because of this that they could be said to have voluntarily and without coercion joined the IDF.

This fact is indeed contradictory to the line of struggle carried out by the Muslim majority and Arab countries to support Palestinian sovereignty. That is, by joining the Israeli army they indirectly break the Palestinian cause. Or they also indirectly become the ‘killing machine’ of the Palestinian population.

On this basis, the decision to become a soldier is often criticized by fellow members of the community.

Even so, the decision to become an Israeli soldier cannot be blamed because for them this is the best way to achieve prosperity. Because, while living in Israel they often experience economic inequality which leads to high poverty and unemployment.

Recent research by Ensherah Khory and Michal Krumer-Nevo entitled “Poverty in Arab-Palestinian society in Israel: Social work perspectives before and during COVID-19” (2023) mentions 45.3% of families and 57.8% of children from the community Arab-Palestinians (another name for Arab-Israelis) are below the poverty line.

Moving on from such a difficult situation, it is logical that they are looking for the best job, and the army is one of the choices. Moreover, the Israeli government is also seriously recruiting soldiers by promising various conveniences, from equality to welfare.

Dalam riset peneliti University of Pennsylvania Miriam Minsk berjudul “Saluted for Service: Benefits of Arab-Israeli Enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces” (Journal on Jewish Thought, Jewish Culture, and Israel, 2020), the IDF provides wider job opportunities to Arabs after the military service period is over. Even though they are still involved in the military world, the government is trying to position them to be successful in the future.

This reason seems very positive because it seeks to integrate Arab citizens into Israeli society to make it more prosperous. However, MP Hanin Zoabie told Al Majalla refute this argument.

Hanin said, this good attitude aims to divide the Arab-Israeli people. Because, just like in Ella’s case, it is certain that the presence of a family member in the army means that relationships in the same environment are no longer the same. They will definitely blame each other until there is division.

Being an individual in the Arab-Israeli community is difficult. There are only two choices: continue to survive in a situation full of discrimination or work to serve the government to make it more prosperous with the title of traitor. Of course this choice is not easy and has big consequences.

(mfa/luc)