Israelis visit UCLA, hope to put face to conflict

By Todd Belie
Daily Bruin Contributor

Although the fighting rages on the other side of the world, two
Israeli soldiers touring the United States hope to bring a face to
the conflict in their homeland.

Speaking before a military science class at UCLA, 20-year-old
Noam Zissman, a deputy commander in the Israeli Defense Force,
talked about being the first Israeli soldier to be wounded in the
recent fighting in the Middle East.

“It’s not an enjoyable experience,” Zissman
said. “There are some good and some bad times, but you learn
from everything.”

On Sept. 27, Zissman was escorting a convoy of civilians near
Netzarim, a settlement in the Gaza Strip, when his group was
ambushed by small arms fire and a road-side bomb. Zissman killed
one of the attackers, but was also shot in the leg.

While recovering from his wounds, Zissman and Lt. Moran Kalinsky
are touring U.S. colleges this fall as part of an Israel Foreign
Ministry program called ACHVA 2000, which stands for affinity and
fraternity and hopes to strengthen relationships between Israeli
and American youth.

Students who heard of Zissman’s experience said they were
humbled to speak to someone their age who had been on the front
lines of combat.

“I had been viewing the news reports of the conflict in
Israel in a removed sense,” said Erik Lewis, a fourth-year
history student and member of the Army Reserve.

“By placing a face and story with the young soldiers, I
hold a new respect for the responsibilities they have
accepted,” he continued.

Despite ongoing peace negotiations and an Israeli offer of
Palestinian statehood, more than 170 people have been killed since
fighting began in late September, including two Palestinians and
one Israeli customs officer this week.

During the lecture, Zissman mentioned how religious tensions
existing within Jerusalem are magnified by the relatively small
area of the holy land. In light of the United Nations condemnation
of Israeli actions, Zissman discussed how the media influences
foreign perception of the situation.

“The media shows you what they want to show you,”
Zissman said. “We can’t change the images, we can only
try to explain them.”

For example, Zissman said images that show a child standing
before a tank can be deceiving.

“When shown a picture of a tank and a boy, people’s
sympathy naturally goes to the boy,” he said. “But what
the picture doesn’t show is that the tank is defending homes
and civilians and the boy might be attacking them.”

Kalinsky and Zissman also spoke about differences in military
structure and training between the U.S. and Israel.

Military service is mandatory for both male and female Israeli
citizens when they turn 18, whereas male U.S. citizens are only
required to register for the draft but not to serve in the
army.

The soldiers spoke before a military science class taught by
William McCloskey, a Major in the U.S. Army. Acknowledging the
complexity of the situation, McCloskey said he does not believe a
final resolution will be reached for a while.

“It’s a challenging situation because the conflict
is not military force to military force,” McCloskey said.
“You have rebel forces, guerrillas and terrorists, and many
times civilians are put in harm’s way.”

“It’s terrible for both sides because mothers are
losing their sons and daughters,” he continued.