An explicitly sexual reward for military service -- "a man in uniform" and all that -- has historically been the more common pattern, and I expect a good number of young men have been lured into combat by that promise over the centuries ...

In any case, casting war as an inherently male activity is kind of silly these days. When I was a medic in Desert Storm, I had many female colleagues who took exactly the same risks I did; granted, the medical corps has always had a lot more women than any other part of the service. But today, female GI's are kicking in doors in Baghdad, and standing watch for female suicide bombers who are every bit as committed to the war as their male counterparts. A good friend of mine is walking around with shrapnel embedded in her kidney from an ambush in Afghanistan. One of my professors was a veteran of Israel's war for independence, where she served as a sniper. And, of course, whether or not they were allowed to pick up weapons and defend themselves, women have been dying in wars ever since such a thing existed -- blades and bullets and bombs are no respecter of sex.

Israel learned long ago that when you really need bodies to throw into the fight, you can't afford to exclude half your population. Russia learned the same lesson a few years before. And regrettably, America and Iraq are now learning it too.

The article is close to chaotic. I can't figure out where Arnon is coming from--but perhaps that's the point.

When it comes to Israel, nobody knows where they're coming from. I've had friends for years who served in campaign after campaign who don't know what they're doing--why even the war is being fought.

A communal agreement has been made within Israel that is at odds with their own humanity. A people who were almost destroyed have become destroyers. It's the most pathetic drama of the 20th century, and now has lapsed into the 21st.

You show promise Arnon. At least you're looking at the issues from an honest perspective. You haven't yet reached any irrevocable conclusions. You are too enmeshed.

But listen Arnon: it doesn't have to be this way. The current consensus doesn't have to rule forever. You have done your duty, you have obeyed orders, you have been a good soldier, but there is more--the cause of peace is more.

Look into your heart. Do these "enemies" deserve to be killed and dominated? Is that not what happened to your own people in an earlier time--when justice was overuled by a mass consensus?

Change comes one individual at a time. One drop out after another. One refusal to pull the trigger after another. They can't do it if you say no.

Think Arnon Grunberg. Think about what side you really want to be on--in your soul--in the person you want to be. Think about these human beings who are being killed and slaughtered. Think about what if you were born as them. Don't join the fucking mob.

Peace is far, far more demanding than war. It requires a discipline in which there is no commander--only your heart. Follow your heart Arnon. Do not be afraid. Do not let them turn you into a murderer.

Hi,

First, I want to say that I read salon.com frequently, and I learned to appreciate and learn from the keen insight of the writers and editors. However, this article is a shame. It's a shame because the facts are not true.

There are no heroics or "sexual connotations" to the IDF. The IDF is more about worried mothers and worried wives. That's all. Young people go to the army instead of college, and being in the army let me tell you this: they count each day till they finish, and then they take long travels to South America to relax.

Once they come back, they will try to get a life, but some of them will have to go a few weeks each year as an IDF reserves. They, their spouses and their children hate every moment of it. They just hope that their husband or father will come back alive.

My friend's son is now at the army, and the parents are worried. The kid himself has very hard time knowing that he will end up in a battle unit.

The current Israeli culture is the opposite of "heroics": When a soldier is wounded or dead in battle, it's more a depression, and you can see the mourning and the sadness in the media, in the daily life, in people small talks. The soldiers are often referred to as "kids". The never ending fighting situation is more a depression, worries and hard life than anything else. Sorry.

Amira Has is not a "liberal" journalist. She is an Israeli that lives in Gasa for years, providing a one sided false picture from the Palestinian side propaganda. She is more "Lord How-How" of the conflict, and the fact that she can regularly publish in the Israeli newspapers is a sign to the Israeli openness.

One last thing: The context. This article smartly undermine the mind of a powerful nation, America. But it's false to apply that to Israel. This is not the situation here. When I'm going on the bus in Jerusalem, I try to figure if it's a dangerous day to do that. I look at the people on the bus, yes, also the Palestinians, maybe one of them is going to explode the bus? I hear about a Palestinian missile that hit a Mall. I read about a Palestinian missile that hit a high school. The cellular phone usage here is enormous: the daily and hourly news could be fatal.

Historically, the Israel-Arab conflict is similar to many territories the British Empire left during the last century, most fell into never ending battles (somebody said New-Zealand? We wish). The facts show that whenever Israel has lost in a military battle, the place where extinct totally by Arab forces, and luckily for Israel it didn't happen a lot after 1948. A few years ago Israel evacuated Gasa completely, and got in return missiles on schools, kinder gardens, shopping centers and streets. Nothing heroic or sexual, sorry again.

Both Jews and Palestinians have done their (tragic) mistakes. Maybe hope could be recovered, maybe not. False accusations and lies will not help either side.

Aviah Laor

Jerusalem