Brothers and Others in Arms: The Making of Love and War in Israeli Combat Units

by Danny Kaplan

 

Brothers and Others in Arms: The Making of Love and War in Israeli Combat Units

Danny Kaplan

Southern Tier Editions, Harrington Park Press, an imprint of The Haworth Press Inc.

 

 

This book, authored by a social psychologist who served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), is a case study of how gay and bisexual men coped with social adjustment and their own identity in military combat units.

The first 90 pages consists of touchingly amusing interviews with eight ex-combat soldiers of various military units, i.e. paratroops, reconnaissance, armor, infantry, etc. As a result of these interviews the author coins the term “masculitary” to describe the dominant masculine military culture, which he analyzes in the second part of the book.

To better understand Israeli culture and its military, I was constantly referring to the 18 1/2 pages of footnotes, 228 in all, and the extremely helpful glossary.

There is very little love making in the military. Although Israel’s population is about 4.3 million, they inhabit only 7,992

square miles, about the size of New Jersey. Unless in basic training or actually engaged in fighting, many Israeli soldiers commute daily to their military jobs. Due to the constant fight with neighboring Palestine, today’s combat zones are at home.

Three-year active duty is compulsory for most Jewish-Israeli youth at the age of 18, and most also serve annual reserve duty once discharged. In 2000, the Israeli parliament determined that women also have an equal right to serve and now it is mandatory that they serve one year and none months or less in the IDF.

The almost innate fervor of Zionism pervades the IDF. Whether gay or straight, the soldier’s cammaderie on active duty is evident. Roughly 80 percent of the Jewish male population complete their military service; 84 percent of gays do. There is no such thing as a ”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and attempts to compare our policy to Israel’s are ludicrous.

This study, translated from Hebrew with suitable homosex slang, should interest those psychological and sociological theorists exploring homosocial culture in a militaristic nation.

The author concludes, “Participation of gays in combat units has no bearing on military performance and unit cohesion.” At least not in Israel.

(as published in Family & Friends Magazine, October 2004, by Jim Easter, columnist)