I was personally excited when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the latest crop of Armored Corps recruits this week. Exactly 50 years ago, in November, I myself arrived at the induction base, having persuaded myself that I absolutely must serve in the Armored Corps. Even before I enlisted, I could recite entire passages from the canonical book "Exposed in the Turret," about the Israeli Armored Corps, from memory. The book, which has been translated into 14 languages, described the corps' battles in Sinai and in the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War. In my graduating high school class in Tel Aviv that year, only a handful of us enlisted to serve in combat units.
In the training tent at the recruits' base I was the only religious soldier among secular kibbutz dwellers. The field training at the Shivta base was extremely difficult, but the experience of dashing across the Negev desert in a tank and firing the tank gun on the move was so satisfying that it was compensation enough.
We all felt enormous pride in our unit. We earnestly believed that we were fulfilling our national duty and felt that we were making a real contribution to the security of the state.
Serving as an officer in the 188th Armored Brigade was certainly challenging. I spent days and nights fighting the Syrian army in the Golan Heights. There was battle, followed by preparations, followed by training and then back to battle. That was our unrelenting routine. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973 I lost many of my fellow armored corps comrades – it was their courage and dedication that led to our victory.
Years went by, and the Israeli public changed. We have shifted from being a "we" society to a "me" society. The status of the individual is now measured by his income and not his willingness to contribute. Pockets within Israeli society have completely distanced themselves from combat military service and no longer see any value in it. The battlefield has also changed significantly. Face-to-face armored battles have been replaced with terrorist organizations operating behind the backs of their enslaved public. And still, it is clear that without the armored corps and infantry forces, no battle will ever be won.
But the people of Israel have immeasurable strength. Those who have abandoned these values have now been replaced by different ideological groups. The history of the Jewish people is a relay race and in every historical period a different team carries the baton of vision and freedom. It turns out that there are enough wonderful, motivated young people in Israel today that still want to serve in the Armored Corps.
I remember that even before the 1967 Six-Day War that there was talk of the "hedonistic" younger generation. But at the moment of truth, everyone showed up and fought like lions, winning the glorious victory that changed the course of Israel's history.
The soldiers enlisting today to the Armored Corps will keep this tradition alive. They will wave the black and green flag with pride and lead the people of Israel to victory, should they be called upon to do so. Let's just hope that they are never called up to do so.
