Serving in foreign militaries

Serving in the IDF or other foreign militaries raises sensitive issues related to dual loyalty (see my earlier article Which Country Would You Die For?).

Serving in a foreign military implies a greater loyalty to that country, given the risk of ultimate sacrifice.

But serving in a foreign military, with its own discipline, regulations and codes, is distinct from extremist irregular forces without such developed frameworks (even if there are some common elements).

In the former in democratic societies the broad frameworks and values are largely similar. Needless to say, the same could not be said for those fighting for ISIS or equivalents:

Two Americans serving as lone soldiers were among 13 Israeli soldiers and scores of Palestinians over the weekend who died during the first major ground battle in two weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas. Max Steinberg, a 24-year-old sharpshooter in the Golani Brigade, was killed as well as Nissim Sean Carmeli, 21, from South Padre Island, Texas.

There were about 5,500 lone soldiers serving in the military in 2012, according to the Israel Defence Forces. Groups for families of lone soldiers, like the support group in Toronto, have recently started in Los Angeles and other cities, providing a support network as the fighting intensifies.

“Lone soldiers are a kind of star in Israel,” Jewish Journal reported. “For Israeli kids, army service is a rite of passage. But because it is a choice for the young members of the Diaspora who re-direct their own life paths to protect Israel, those enlistees are given a hero’s welcome — and a lifetime of Shabbat dinner invitations from their fellow soldiers, who become their surrogate families.”

‘I just want her to get through this in one piece’: Canadians serving with Israeli military amid Gaza conflict, parents say

And in LaPresse, a fairly critical look at Canadian Ambassador Vivian Bercovici’s one-sided perspective as seen through her tweets.

To be fair, she is simply expressing the Government’s policy on Israel and Palestine but given that she formally is the Ambassador to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, she does seem to be even more one-sided than necessary:

Norman Spector, qui a été ambassadeur du Canada en Israël de 1992 à 1995 et chef de cabinet du l’ancien premier ministre Brian Mulroney, s’est dit surpris du «parti pris» de ces déclarations. «Cela me surprend de lire ses tweets et retweets», a-t-il affirmé.

«Par contre, à mon époque, l’ambassadeur était responsable pour les relations avec Israël et pour les relations avec les Palestiniens, ce qui n’est pas le cas aujourd’hui, si je ne me trompe pas», a-t-il ajouté.

Le bureau du ministre des Affaires étrangères, John Baird, a confirmé que cette dernière responsabilité incombe au Bureau de représentation du Canada auprès de l’Autorité palestinienne.

Le ministre John Baird n’a pas bronché lorsque La Presse lui a demandé de réagir. «Elle est là pour représenter les intérêts canadiens, les valeurs et la position canadienne, et elle le fait très bien», a déclaré un porte-parole par courriel. «Elle a tout notre appui.»

Des experts n’ont pas été particulièrement surpris en lisant ces propos. «Elle a été choisie au départ parce qu’elle avait ces convictions», a souligné Rex Brynen, professeur de sciences politiques à l’Université McGill.

«Je ne crois pas que cette distinction [entre diplomatie et activisme politique] existe réellement, a quant à lui noté le professeur Roland Paris, de l’Université d’Ottawa. Les diplomates ont plusieurs fonctions, et l’une d’elles est d’être un défenseur des positions de leur gouvernement.»

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique/politique-canadienne/201407/22/01-4785985-israel-les-tweets-de-lambassadrice-du-canada-font-jaser.php