Journal

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January 02, 2004

In the Army Now It

In the Army Now

It was an incredible week. I have just participated in a
volunteer programme with the IDF (Israeli Defence Force),
which allows civilians to contribute to Israeli life by working
in hospitals and IDF warehouses, packing gas masks and
doing their bit to help the country.

I have been regularly upset by the way that Israel is
portrayed in the British media. I feel that there is a latent
anti-Semitism in British society which manifests as a form
of acceptable anti-Zionism in the British press. Martin
Luther King said it - 'Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism
are the same thing' - but the editors of the Guardian
and the Independent continue to perpetuate the myths.
Israel wants peace, Israel is dying for peace, Israel
wants a healthy Palestinian state as soon as possible.
Please guys, Arafat and co, do your bit! Stick to your side
of the bargains and we'll all be better off.

So instead of complaining or feeling bitter, I went to
Israel on the Sarel programme (www.sar-el.org)
and I spent a week in the desert baking bread in the
army kitchens and dismantling periscopes from old
T-54 tanks that were captured from Egypt in the
Six Day war. Now back to Watford...