Accompanied by many fascinating photos from the Israel Defense Forces, Author Barbara Sofer takes us through the basic history of the state of Israel as the reader follows the lives of four teens. As an adult, I found this book fascinating because it gave me a much better understanding of how the state of Israel came into being, and how they operate their military. Surrounded by Arabic nations, and the possibility of the threats they posed, Israel built up its military defenses in order to survive as a nation.
David, Sharona, Dana, and Hezzy are the 4 teens in the story that we follow as they make their military choices for service to Israel, which is a requirement of both young men and women in this tiny democratic mid-eastern country. Immediately upon high school graduation, boys serve for three years, and girls for two. Dana, an émigré from the US, chooses to join the army after giving careful thought to serving in Israel's alternative service (National Service - an alternative service for religious women who did not want to serve in the military but could still serve their country in other capacities such as tutoring children from disadvantaged homes, and caring for ill children in the hospital. Women are able to dress more modestly in National Service than they would be in the military service - so a good alternative for very religious young women). She decides to take a job teaching Judaism to former Soviet soldiers. Hezzy chooses to be an air force pilot, David wants to be in the active Navy, but is injured in an accident before he can do so. He is offered a job in Intelligence, and accepts it. Sharona was a good athlete, so she decided to serve in active combat as a Border Police guard. All four teens are quite pleased with their decisions, after much time and thought was put into all the different options available in today's Israeli Defense Forces. The author mixes her fictional story of the four teens and their choices by adding factual text about the different service branches, interspersed with many actual photos from the IDF and other sources. A fascinating book for any pre-teen and teen to read when contemplating their own future and a great way for all of us to acquaint ourselves with the history of Israel.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
 |
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
