https://www.kaskus.co.id/thread/53c33e411cbfaa59328b45f9/share-maj-ala-wahib-an-officer-and-a-muslim-zionist

Continued.



Wahib “is one of the best officers in the IDF,” says Lt. Col. Itzik Cohen, who currently serves as the commander of the Givati training base, but served as Wahib’s commander for the last three years. “He sacrificed a lot in order to be where he is today, went through a lot of anguish, and I will go out on a limb and say that woe is the IDF if it fails to hug him and welcome him and keep him in the army. I did, and will do, everything in my power to keep him in the system. We don’t let good people go that easily. Wahib got an opportunity to prove himself in a very important, key post. It is exactly the kind of post one gets promoted from. I believe in him.”



Wahib is under contract to serve for another year. During this year, he hopes to get promoted to a post that will keep him in the military. He wants to get as far as possible in the ranks, but the fear of disappointment lets him dream of only one achievement at a time. “I hope to make lieutenant colonel and continue in a core post,” he says.



His eventual discharge worries him. “My uniform, my rank, my officer’s card – these are my VIP ticket into Israeli society, they protect me. When I take off my uniform and go back to being a regular citizen, I will once again have to deal with the fact that I am an Arab citizen in the State of Israel.”



Do you believe that things will change in the future, and that you won’t need a VIP ticket to protect you one day?



“The State of Israel has a lot of different colors. There is a wide variety. Two peoples live here, and the sooner we recognize it, the faster we can minimize the damage. I think that the fact that I am an officer in the IDF communicates a positive message to the Arabs living here. I want to believe that the path that I chose will prove to them that there is another way. My nephew and my cousin enlisted in the Border Police this year, for example. I support them and I help them, with my experience.”



“I feel that I am on a mission. I hope that in the future there will be a lot more Muslim Arab officers in the IDF, and that by virtue of us being human beings we will find a way to communicate and find solutions for a shared life.”



In recent years, hundreds of individuals from ethnic minorities have enlisted in the IDF every year. The IDF personnel branch reports that the numbers have tripled in five years. Of the minorities that serve, 65% are Bedouin, 20% are Christians, and 15% (just a few dozen) are Muslim. The Muslim communities that yield the most soldiers are Nazareth, Dir al-Assad, Bi’ina and Reineh. According to IDF statistics, there are two Arab officers currently serving in the IDF, and only one, Ala Wahib, in a core post. A female Muslim officer was recently discharged from the Air Force. Fifteen Muslim Arabs and 14 Christian Arabs have been killed over the years while serving in the IDF. 14-07-2014 09:20

14-07-2014 09:26 Diubah oleh reyronld