Soldier shares experiences, defends Israel's military actions

An Israeli soldier shared his experiences in the Israeli army with Elon University students Feb. 13.

Benjamin Anthony, a reserve sergeant in the Israel Defense Forces, said he has been touring college campuses nationwide, hoping to dispel what he and his organizations view as inaccuracies in the mass media portrayal of the Israeli army.

Anthony founded an organization called "Our Soldiers Speak." His organization "works to separate fact from sensationalism, to distinguish between perception and reality and to compare the media headlines to the truth," as stated on his organization's website.

He recounted harrowing stories of his time serving as a combat soldier in conflicts in the West Bank and told stories of Israeli soldiers who are faced with extremely difficult combat situations at a young age. Like many armies, the IDF has soldiers who are as young as 18 years old.

The last 10 years have seen violent confrontations in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon. Although the Israeli army has been the subject of controversy in the mainstream media, Anthony described the Israeli motivation for armed interventions as strictly defensive.

"We fight not out of a desire to wage war," Anthony said. "We have no other choice."

Soldiers in the IDF are not motivated by religious ideology, political fervor or political identification, but merely by a basic human desire to survive, he said. According to Anthony, this motivation lies in contrast with those of Israel's enemies, who he believes use religion to justify political and military actions.

Anthony said that while terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah fire rockets on Israeli
settlements, the Israeli army is one of the most humane fighting forces in the world, protecting the lives and well-being of Palestinian and Arab civilians in war zones. Anthony said that every combat operation of the IDF is carried out in a professional and calculated manner.

Anthony called the existence of Israel as a state and home for the Jewish people important,
citing the long history of anti-Semitism in Europe and in all places of Jewish Diaspora. Anthony also spoke of the historical connection that Jews have with Israel.

"We have no other place to go," he said. "We can no longer afford to be at the mercy of other nations."

Israel has a strong desire for peace, but a peace that is meaningful and lasting will take time, Anthony said.

Anthony stressed the importance of the United States to Israel, which he said was Israel's most important ally in the world.

He encouraged Americans to be fair and objective when analyzing news from the continuing conflict.