BY KAITLIN KYI

In print | November 2, 2006

Lapid Levi, a member of the Israel Defense Forces, shared a firsthand account of his experiences in the Israel-Lebanon conflict in an event organized by the American-Israel Alliance on Oct. 25. Levi gamely encouraged dialogue with the audience. “Be rude,” he urged. “I want you guys to ask everything.”

Levi was a member of the special demolition forces for the Israel Defense, specifically the engineering unit. After passing mental and physical testing for the paratroopers in 2002 — all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 are required to serve the national military — Levi was promoted to the rank of sergeant and commanded a team of snipers.

Levi’s unit received information about terrorist activity and consequently went on numerous counter-terrorism missions.

In the midst of the Lebanon-Israeli military conflict this summer, Levi was sent to Lebanon on a mission against Hezbollah militant forces.

Levi’s lecture offered a more personal account of the conflict. “You’re seeing a normal person in the conflict, something you don’t see in the media,” David Pupkin ’09 said. Pupkin organized the event with Louis Rosenberg ’09.

Levi began the lecture by showing images of young people, asking the audience to imagine their personal lives, their ages and their families.

Afterwards, he solemnly informed the lecture hall that those depicted were several of the many innocent people who were killed during the war in Lebanon. “Numbers are hard to imagine,” he said. “These people had nothing to do with the Hezbollah.”

Levi was eager to dispel any misconceptions about the actions of Israel in the conflict. “We don’t hate the Lebanese, we’re looking for the Hezbollah,” he said. “We try to minimize the damage and help the civilians as much as we can … Believe it or not, we do believe human life is something valuable and something important,” Levi said. As such, his unit was ordered never to fire at alleged suicide bombers without confirmation of their ammunition.

According to Levi, soldiers spend up to 16 months in training, so friendship is something that came naturally to him and the other members of his unit. By the end of the training, Levi could recognize his friends in the dark or by their smell. Levi described to the audience how a friend died within “three seconds in a battle.” “The feeling is horrible,” he said.

Colin Schimmelfing ’10 said that such visceral descriptions should give Swarthmore students something to think about. “It was very thought-provoking. It definitely made me think about having to go into the army [as Israelis must] … It gave me a more favorable opinion of Israel and its patience,” he said.

Organizer Louis Rosenberg ’09 said he was pleased with such student reactions. “I was happy that so many people came, and for the warm response,” he said.

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