Life Israeli different for some

For most people childhood is about growing and having fun with no worries, but this isn’t the case for everyone. 24 year old Ben Sapirstein grew up in a small suburb town in Israel called Gan Yavne just outside the Gaza Strip. Living with his parents, two sisters and one brother, in a place where imminent attacks were part of everyday life, Ben did not live the same kind of childhood you or I am familiar with. 

As children in Israel Ben and his siblings never really knew why things were happening, they were just told that they have enemies and to be careful.

Ben was in school at the time Saddam Hussein was in power when he would threaten to launch chemical bombs to Israel and he was accustomed to living in potential danger.

“We were given masks against chemical bombs, as a child you would go to the ministry of defence and get measured for your own mask and you would have to bring it to school in case of a bombing.

“We would have alerts and sirens once or twice a year to practice where everyone goes to the basement, we shut all windows and put wet towels at the doors so air cannot get through; but you know, it was fun!

Areas around the gaza strip were divided into ‘rings’, each indicating how long it would take for a missile to reach the houses in that ring. The first ring was the closest to the Gaza Strip, it would take just 15 seconds for a missile to hit. Ben lived in the third ring which was furthest away but not yet Tel Aviv, here it took 45 seconds for a missile to reach. But because of the level of security in Israel, the attacks were almost always intercepted but the army.

Ben attended a boarding school in Jerusalem where he was sheltered from news of war and conflict but when he went home on the weekends he would often not be able to return due to bombings or missile launches. These attacks were mainly initiated by Hamas, a Palestinian-Sunni fundamentalist organisation who have been in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007.

“It was really an Intifada, like an uprising, nothing was military or organised until they grouped together with Hamas[…] but it was Hamas who instructed people to just like take poles from the streets and explosives and make rockets.

“It was like an evolution of a war because they started with something really amateur and then got more and more money from Iran and Qatar and so it got more and more sophisticated.”

The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) would track these attacks and launch a counter-attack to destroy the missile in the air before it hit within seconds of its initial launch. Despite it being an attack and even with the sirens indicating to run to shelter sounding, people became so used to the frequent attacks that they would go out to the streets and watch the collision as if it were a firework show.

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Missile interception in Tel Aviv (Ben Sapirstein)

Another major part of life in Israel is that it is mandatory for every man and woman to serve in the army, 2.4 years for a woman and 2.8 for a man. Although some people can be exempt from service for various reasons like religion, physical health or personal moral code. Prior to service everyone must go through basic training for a month where they would get accustomed to the routine, follow commands and attend educational classes like history and values.

Ben served four years in the army, working in the intelligence quarter as a programmer and later as a commander. His job was to track potential attacks by gathering information on certain groups and then sending the information onto someone else who would carry out the counter-attack or blockage needed depending on the situation.

“People would say everyday how they were going to destroy israel and how they were going to kill everybody- it’s really funny because like you’re just in your office drinking coffee and they’re thinking they’re about to bomb it.”

Ben is now on reserve for 30 years but says it’s very unlikely he’ll be called to service due to the lack of demand for programmers.

I asked Ben if he had enjoyed his time in the army or if he resented having to serve:

“I take it very lightly like it was some kind of summer camp, especially when it was really stupid like the basic training when you would have commanders that were only like a year older than you but have so much control over your life.

“I definitely enjoyed it, I was excited to join in the first place, but I definitely didn’t agree with everything they did. I didn’t like the rules and conformity but made some of my closest friends there.”