The escalation of Israel’s operations in Gaza has renewed turmoil in reservists' lives — and resentment about haredi Orthodox Jews who avoid military service.

I want to emphasize that although this article is written in a manner that shows sympathy to the perpetrators of a genocide, I thought it was a valuable look into the ways that the genocide in Gaza is completely tearing apart the social fabric of Israeli society.

“Some people go into this with a deep sense of mission — of serving their team, their country, of doing something bigger than themselves,” she said. “But over time, that can blur into something else. It can make it easier to dehumanize the other side. I believe there has to be a space between committing war crimes and being killed. I pray we’re still in that space.”

[Ron Howard voice:] They were not.

  • Andy@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
    312·
    8 days ago

    One piece of context that really needs emphasized to anyone who doesn’t already know: about a fifth of Israeli Jews are ultra orthodox, and they have long refused to participate in the compulsory military service that everyone – men and women – must perform. They’re also the foundation of the political base of far-right zealots that have decided to forgo recovering the Israeli hostages/prisoners held in Gaza in favor of embarking on a final solution to the Palestine question. So they’re quite unpopular and also highly privileged politically.