[View the story "Friend An Israeli Soldier" on Storify ]Friend An Israeli Soldier In an effort to change perceptions of the Israeli Army, three soliders launched an interactive website to answer questions from around the world. What would you ask an Israeli soldier? We interviewed Josh Mintz, a co-founder of the site and command sergeant in the Israeli Army Reserves. Storified by The Stream · Wed, Oct 26 2011 21:59:45
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Friend-a-Soldier is an interactive website which allows anyone to meet, talk to and befriend an Israeli combat soldier. Your job is simple: pick a soldier, think of a question — any question — and ask away! You will receive a transparent, personal response in your e-mail inbox from the soldier you’ve chosen.friendasoldier.com
Friend - A - Soldier.mov pokilirut
Here, a solider named Shlomie answers the question "Did you have to do anything in your army service that made you feel uncomfortable?"
Friend-a-Soldier; ShlomieYour questions answered (Part1): Meet Shlomie, a former IDF Paratrooper and medic, and hear his story.
In one email thread, Josh, a solider in Tel Aviv, had an ongoing conversation with a commenter named Hossam in Egypt.
Part of Hossam's first letter:
How does it feel to demolish a house and watch people cry when they watch their house being demolition? Are the people offered any sort of compensation or a place to live?friendasoldier.com
And Josh's response:
As for house demolitions, I’ve never been part of, or witnessed one. I don’t support the policy of demolishing the homes of suicide bombers; I see it as collective punishment.friendasoldier.com
In the same exchange, Hossam asked Josh about Israel's occupation of the West Bank.
Do you believe the West Bank is occupied by Israel?friendasoldier.com
Finally , yes I do believe that the West Bank is occupied. I think that people who claim that it is ‘Disputed Territory’ simply don’t know the law at all and those who believe that they have a ‘divine right’ to it and that it is ‘Greater Israel’ are simply deluded.friendasoldier.com
Hossam posed the same question to Ilana, another solider on the site, and got a very different response.
Do you believe the settlements are an obstacle to peace? And do you believe the west bank is occupied by Israel?friendasoldier.com
Ilana's response:
I do not believe that settlements are an obstacle for peace. The west bank is divided into 3 regions. One is in control by Israel, the second by both Israel and Palestinians, and the third is controlled only by Palestinians. Therefore the areas that are controlled by Israel, in my opinion is the country’s right to use it in any way they wish, and building settlements I believe is a very fare way of using it.friendasoldier.com
The site makes clear that it does not have any official connection to the Israeli military.
Friend-a-Soldier does not represent the Israeli Defense Forces or the Government of Israel. Any opinions expressed are solely those of the affiliates of Friend-a-Soldier, and do in no way express any positions, policies or opinions of the Israeli Defense Forces.friendasoldier.com
But the Israeli government has still taken note. In February, the site was endorsed by the Israeli Embassy in Turkey's Twitter account:
İsrailli Askerlere İstediğiniz Soruyu Sorun http://israilblogu.com/2011/02/26/israilli-askerlere-istediginiz-soruyu-sorun/İsrail Türkiye'de
[Translation: Ask whatever you wish to the Israeli soldiers]
Before the site officially launched in February 2011, the creators put out a call on Facebook for soldiers to contribute to the site.
FaS is looking for dedicated IDF veterans with a credible service to serve as digital ambassadors in the fight against Israel's de-legitimization.facebook.com
Writing for Palestinian Ma'an News, Charlotte Alfred raised questions about the site and their ambitions to serve as digital ambassadors for Israel.
Could their diplomacy goals be in tension with their claim to give just "truthful, transparent" answers?maannews.net
To which founder Daniel Nisman responded:
"People's diplomacy in Israel is different to that in China -- or actually not China -- but Japan or South Korea. For them diplomacy is 'come visit, spend money here.' For Israel, you're saying: I'm not the things you think I am, I'm a legitimate state, we haven't done the things you say we have."maannews.net
What do you think? Could this be a useful tool for dialogue? What would you ask an Israeli soldier? Let The Stream know via Twitter or Facebook .
