November 2
GUEST: Mark Hammel, PhD,
psychologist, Israeli citizen and veteran of the IDF during
the Yom Kippur War, talks about his ideological journey to
being a post Zionist, and a therapist for disabled veterans.
Explaining
the Yom Kippur War
As a US veteran, I understand how a young man goes off to war with the best of intentions. He is defending his family and his country. He is doing his patriotic duty.
Once his finger is on the trigger, things look so different. There are women and children in the way. He is somewhere far from home, shooting people who might have been innocent. Suddenly, he questions how he is defending his family in a foreign country. He sees what invasions and occupations do to humanity in the Third World. He sees the slaughter he has wrought.
Now to come home, to be congratulated for all that carnage. Now to begin to live with all those memories.
Mark Hammel knows that scenario all too well, having fought for Israel in two wars. I think that talking about war and occupation is a first step in regaining one's humanity. Mark is particularly insightful. He is a veteran of the IDF who can no longer accept apartheid.
