Mmmmm Cookies!

See a beautiful woman in something resembling a uniform and, for those men in the West, one of the first funny thoughts that comes to mind is Girl Scouts and Girl Scout cookies. The image below from LOL News is a perfect and wonderfully pleasant to look at example.

Unsurprisingly, my being an average example of one of those Western men, I was originally going to jump on the bandwagon and make a short, hopefully humorous, and more than a little prurient post about the image displayed above. Then I took a better look at the picture and the woman depicted therein.

Firstly, I realized that the woman is wearing the field uniform of the Tzva Hagana Leyisra’el (Tzahal) which is more widely called the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). There are no “Girl Scouts” in the Tzahal.

Secondly, I noticed that she wore the Chiel Harefuah pin upon her breast. That’s the Tzahal’s insignia for their medical corps. Due the particulars of my life I do not tend towards offering up anything that might be considered disrespectful to members of the medical corps of any nation’s military forces.

Third and finally, I saw that, judging by her looks, she was an Arab. That sparked my curiosity since there are relatively few Arabs the IDF; all Israeli Arabs with the exception of the Druze and Circassians, are exempt from Israel’s compulsory military service and few choose to serve voluntarily. Fewer still Arab women would choose or be allowed by their menfolk to join the military.

As far as I could see this woman had to be special, if only by the nature of her rarity, so I started doing some research…


The young woman in the picture is Cpl. Elinor Joseph. She has just recently, after serving as a medic within the military police at the Qalqilya crossing in the West Bank, been selected to be a Combat Medic in the Karakal Battalion, a light infantry battalion defending the relatively peaceful Israel-Egyptian border.  The Karakal Battalion, formed in 2005, is Israel’s only fully coed combat unit.

The Karakal Battalion probably sees more day-to-day “action” than most of the main-line Tzahal units but they are more suited to Batash (Fluent Security) duties than to normal infantry operations

With her assignment to the Karakal Battalion Cpl. Elinor Joseph became Israel’s first Arab female combat soldier.


Somehow I Don’t Think She’d Be Selling Cookies

Cpl. Joseph is a very beautiful, extremely brave, and interesting person with an unusual history. I’m glad I got the chance to read of her and to write about her a little.

Yishar Koah, Turai Rishon Joseph. Kol Ha-Kavod!

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2 Responses to “Mmmmm Cookies!”

  1. cmblake6 Says:

    No doubt, that is a glorious female in all her parameters, physical and professional.

    I would ask the question of “Why do Arab females put up with the bullshit they do?” If there are those that feel this Holy War is so much crap, female OR male, if there really are those who feel this “pisslam or die” mentality no longer holds bearing, why are there not more speaking out? Fighting for freedom to move into modernity, rather than staying in the world of 1,000 years ago?

    I’ve told you before I am a Christian-Zen-Wiccan-Neo-Pagan-Hindu-Buddhist-Taoist-Of-Latter-Day-Saints-Dot-Com, right? I’ve been dead, I know my whole attitude toward the reality of a creator changed in that however long I was there.

    What I do know is the reality, and what I know without doubt is that Pisslam By The Book is wrong. There is some truth to many, ALL exact truth to none. It is Karmic, it is positive or negative. There IS a Creator, there WAS a Creation.

    What you choose to call Him/Her/It is of no consequence, only good or evil, positive or negative.

    But that’s just me.

  2. jonolan Says:

    It’s not actually all Arab females or just Arab females; it’s Muslim females, be they Arab, Persian, or other.

    As for why – They raised in it from birth and the Muslim males make damn sure that the females don’t get “uppity.” Murder and mutilation are effective tools for enslaving people when the law of your land supports your doing it and makes it nearly impossible for the victims to be independent in the first place.

    It should be noted though that Cpl. Joseph is a Christian. There’s a high percentage of the remaining Arab Christian population in Israel. They fled there to save themselves from the Arab Muslims.

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