Elinor Joseph (, ; born 1991 in

Jish Jish (, ), also known by its Hebrew name of Gush Halab (, ), or by its classical name of Gischala, is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In , it ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

) is an Israeli-Arab soldier who has served with the Caracal Battalion of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF) since 2010. She became the first

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

woman ever to serve in a combat role in the Israeli military.

Background

Joseph was born into a Christian family from the Christian village of

(Gush Halav) in northern Israel. Her parents are Charbel and Warda Joseph and she has an older sister, Lauren. Charbel served in the Israeli Paratroopers Brigade. The Joseph family relocated to the Arab neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

when Elinor was young.

Military service

Enlistment and training

When Elinor graduated high school, her father encouraged her to enlist in the IDF. Though initially opposed to the idea, she gradually cottoned to it and cultivated an ambition to serve as a

combat medic A combat medic is responsible for providing emergency medicine, emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury or illnes ...

. However, upon arriving at the recruitment base, she was informed that she had already been ordained to serve as an office clerk. Deeply disappointed, Elinor refused to be transported out to a new base, until finally, after several days, a meeting was arranged between her and a colonel from the Northern Command. The colonel made Elinor a singular proposal: undergo regular

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique dema ...

and, on the condition of being selected as an outstanding trainee, go on to attempt the medic's training course. Elinor agreed. She completed basic training, was the outstanding trainee of her platoon, and subsequently proceeded to the medic's training course. In an interview with Gadi Sukenik of Channel 2, Elinor described the course as "one of the most... amazing experiences I ever had." At the completion ceremony, on account of her being an outstanding cadet, her commander awarded her her own medic's pin.

Tours of duty

After successfully completing the medic's training course, Elinor Joseph was stationed in a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

base near the Palestinian city of Qalqilyah. In an interview with Chen Kotas Bar of ''

Ma'ariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

'' she recounted how soldiers there would summon her whenever a problem arose with the local residents and there was need for an interpreter. She had some misgivings about serving at a border crossing, but in those moments she reminded herself of the Katyusha rockets that rained down on Haifa. "If someone would tell me that serving in the IDF means killing Arabs, I remind them that Arabs also kill Arabs," she told Rotem Caro Weizman of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. In response to a transfer request Elinor made, in 2010 she was reassigned to the Caracal battalion, which operates in the western

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

along Israel's border with

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. She thus became the first Arab woman ever to serve in the Israeli army in a combat role.

Reactions

Elinor Joseph described the reactions of her friends and neighbors as mixed. While she encountered no overt hostility, walking around her neighborhood in the IDF uniform drew cross looks from some passersby. Some of Elinor's friends terminated contact with her, while with others she developed a closer relationship. Arab-Israeli journalist Suleiman al-Shafi has rejected that Elinor Joseph is the first Arab woman to serve in a combat role in the IDF. In his view, it is more accurate to describe her as the first to have done so publicly.

References

External links

Israel Defense Forces
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Elinor 1991 births Living people Israeli Arab Christians Israeli Maronites Israeli soldiers Women in 21st-century warfare Israeli female military personnel 21st-century Israeli military personnel 21st-century Israeli women