11 Jan, 2009 in
Israel . Tags:
female soldiers; Israel; israeli girls;
Fili's world
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Danwei has an interesting link on "Israeli women soldiers get warm reception on BBS" leading to a Chinese discussion about photos posted on a China BBS of Israeli female soldiers.
Although I find those girls to be exceptionally ordinary and questionably attractive to the average Israeli male, it is an interesting discussion I often have here in Taiwan regarding the mandatory army service Israeli girls have for ~2 years.
Take my little sister, for example (photo on the right). She finally completed her army service a few months ago, serving as a tour guide for Israeli high school kids showing them around cool places in Israel the army was hoping would help Israeli youth feel more connected to their home-land. Although nothing remotely connected to combat, the responses I get from Taiwanese about my sister serving in the army are nothing short of complete shock and disbelief, sometimes quickly substituted for admiration mixed with sympathy and pity. Taiwanese guys were usually very curious on how this works exactly and how it effects their "femininity".
A few years ago, the Israeli government was trying to show the different side of Israel by promoting a series of sexy ads featuring strong Israeli girls in, eh, inviting poses. The result – "Women of the Israeli Defense Forces" – was published at Maxim magazine :
Nivit
Expertise: Military intelligence
“My job was top secret,” says this Tel Aviv native, who still lives with her parents. “I can’t talk about it other than to say I studied some Arabic!”
Needless to say the Israeli government received some very angry responses from many unpleased Israeli women, but the impact of such photos was apparent. The UK Guardian has a good summary of that.
Rachel Papo is a photographer who did a feature on Israeli girls serving in the army that I believe somewhat transformed their image and contributed to a better understanding of what things look like. I’d say some of those photos leave a lasting impression, even though not nearly as sexy as Maxim’s.
Rachel Papo began photographing Israeli female soldiers in the summer of 2004 as part of her masters thesis project. She continues to photograph in both Israel and New York, pursuing fine art photography and accepting commissioned projects.
Back to the Chinese discussion of the hot Israeli girls, here are some of the responses :
Beautiful, beautiful.
Looking good.
Just because of those beautiful girls, the guys fight so much.
Israeli girls are really sexy.
Russian girls are actually more attractive.
How sexy they are!
They’re such beautiful devils.
You be the judge.
walile | January 13th, 2009 at 12:28 pm #
What are the known problems associated with putting girls in mandatory military service? For example, to what extend does sexual attraction interfere with the discipline required in the military?
As far as I know Israel is the only country where girls are required to serve. Being a Taiwanese guy, I understand the unique geopolitical circumstance Israel is in. But in Taiwan nobody would ever thought of girls in mandatory service. There are few girls who voluntarily join the military as a career option, but already there has been many accounts of abuse.
If I’m correct, having roughly equal proportion of male and female in the military is much better than having 1% female and 99% male, if it has been decided that there should be any female AT ALL.
Fili | January 13th, 2009 at 1:22 pm #
walile – that’s a very interesting question to discuss. I can only share my thoughts on the topic.
I believe the male/female ratio is important, but what is even more important is the equal distribution of power, AKA allowing women to take any position in any level of importance. While years ago there was a clear glass ceiling and endless barriers for combat positions situation has improved tremendously and we now have females doing almost everything and some have been able to reach up pretty high. With that said, there is still a big gap and women are mis-represented in decision making positions, having mainly to do with combining parental roles and military at the same time. There are some experiments to try and overcome that but it’s an extreme case of the classic mommy-businesslady dilemma.
Years ago there was also problems of sexual harassment and general sexual tension but the army has been very strict on the topic and I believe the issue is generally been addressed very well. They even have a few mixed gender combat units operating that seem to be working well.
I believe it was the women who made the change, realizing that Israeli society and relationships are still somewhat influenced by army service made ties (maybe like KMT in Taiwan) and them insisting to be equal in all fields. This or next year mandatory service for females and males is expected to finally be the same and even more measures are being taken to make all opportunities available for women.
shang tsung | January 17th, 2009 at 1:33 pm #
Its priceless the chinese concern for conflicts abroad when keeping its own tranquility has brang so much shame. Also the modern china has foreclosed its communist government with the cheapest of capitalist gains without a thort towards the environment, humanity, the welfare of animals etc etc. Perhaps with its exagerated population it can train its people to replace the animals it has so savagely profited from. Its the worst, most deplorable country devoid of any evolutionary teachings of confucius or any other saintly icon these neanderthals slimed out of.
The Chinese perspective on Israel and the Gaza conflict | Fili’s World | January 27th, 2009 at 1:41 pm #
[...] Israel’s female soldiers : Hot Israeli girls discussed in China and Taiwan Korea from above : Seoul’s N Tower Exploring Korean History : Touring Gyeongbok Palace [...]
fady | February 12th, 2009 at 10:25 pm #
ineed to now hot israeli girls
David | February 24th, 2009 at 11:08 am #
War ruins everything.
Yuri | March 2nd, 2009 at 6:28 am #
reminded me of my guy pals in Korea.. they praised Israel for recruiting girls too. a sense of unfairness I sensed.. well.. umm..
they are all so beautiful. rachel papo’s photos are great to check! thanks. but the maxim thing horrified me in some way… geez… she doesn’t do her duty dressing like that, right? right…
big fan of your blog! :)
Fili | March 5th, 2009 at 2:40 pm #
Yuri – I believe the push for female involvement was especially strong from the Israeli females and feminist groups.
As for Maxim – I’d have to say that some of the things I saw Israeli female soldiers do to their uniforms come pretty close (low cleavage, tight fit and endless accessories), constantly testing the boundaries of army rules and regulations. No bikinis yet, though.
moshe rabeynu | March 6th, 2009 at 10:20 am #
Does the israeli army issue those tight low-rise fatigue pants? They are ridiculous for combat wear as they restrict movement. These trousers show off the girls Jewish butt-cheeks very nicely and present a nice outline of their pubic region but this does not enhance their military capabilities.
Fili | March 6th, 2009 at 1:24 pm #
moshe – not all soldiers are combat soldiers :)
Seeking for truth | March 15th, 2009 at 2:03 pm #
In Malaysia, the young gals have to serve government too by going to National Service(a program to train soldier) when they are 18 after finishing their school. This happened after the US launced the first war to Middle East.
Fili | March 15th, 2009 at 11:19 pm #
Seeking the truth – thanks for sharing that. I had no idea. ^_^
Summary of Fili’s World blog – year 2009 | Fili’s world | December 31st, 2009 at 7:17 am #
[...] Israel’s female soldiers : Hot Israeli girls discussed in China and Taiwan [...]
Ashish | March 5th, 2010 at 7:50 am #
This is hilarious stuff. Female Israeli soldiers evoke similar reactions in India.
U A Patel | March 11th, 2010 at 1:19 pm #
Not interested at all.
Phil | March 20th, 2010 at 3:59 pm #
I must say that by Canadian standards, women of the IDF are stunning. We have many women in our military, but many of them fall well short if those depicted here. It would be nice if our Canadian government followed Israel leed and proved me wrong.
karunesh | March 20th, 2010 at 8:16 pm #
they are excellent and they do their best to their state with full honesty and sincerity.
we indians are biggest fan of them as seeing them makes difference to all others.
israelies are great and praiseworthy for their values and dedication towards their state, religion, people and culture as well.
they are the best in the world and they proved also
Fili | March 24th, 2010 at 7:50 am #
Ashish – do women serve in the Indian army?
Fili | March 24th, 2010 at 7:51 am #
Phil – We get all types, you know. Some are gorgeous, some plain, and there is a share of unattractive ones. With that said, I do believe the mandatory army service makes them far more independent, confident, outgoing and extrovert than most women in other cultures. Some would argue that makes them more attractive, some would argue the opposite.
Graham | May 18th, 2010 at 11:19 pm #
Wait, Fili. You said at the top that your sister was a tour guide? In the army? Why?
You know, as much as I adore women serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, it doesn't seem like the army wants to commit them to any task involving combat or risk of physical harm. Partially, I think this is because of the security measures that lead to less violence (Such as the big wall across the West Bank) but it just seems to me like all they do is just hang around Tel Aviv and Haifa and take cute pictures all the time. What if, by some extraordinary circumstance honest-to-god armed terrorists showed up guns blazing? Would the girls have any real experience to fight them off?
I am aware of two exceptions. The Caracal Battalion, which contains both genders, and women in the Mossad, who as far as I know are actually badass (Gail Folliard anyone?).
I just wanted to get that off my chest.
Fili | May 19th, 2010 at 12:58 am #
Graham – about my sister, the Israeli army aims to bring the Israeli kids closer to their country, raise motivation and all that. It's a great job.
While there's no doubt most combat positions are still male dominated, they are nowadays more open to females. starting from about 10-15 years ago, females have joined in on quite a few combat positions (the mostly widely covered one being the air-force training). Caracal is a good example of something more organized. But, ofcourse, you're right, there's still a long way to go, and sadly – many times the male dominated army puts those intelligent girls to serve coffee
love all sex | May 25th, 2010 at 2:58 pm #
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love all sex | May 25th, 2010 at 3:00 pm #
Yuri – I believe the push for female involvement was especially strong from the Israeli females and feminist groups.
As for Maxim – I'd have to say that some of the things I saw Israeli female soldiers do to their uniforms come pretty close (low cleavage, tight fit and endless accessories), constantly testing the boundaries of army rules and regulations. No bikinis yet, though.
love all sex | May 25th, 2010 at 3:01 pm #
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