Writing with great intellectual honesty, Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh addresses a phenomenon which is both exceptional and controversial, namely, the small minority of Palestinians who choose to serve in the Israeli military. Yet, by examining how personal, socio-economic and nationalist motives conflict and coalesce in the choices people make, her book is equally an assessment of how the inherently discriminatory nature of the Israeli state and its policies curtails the parameters of Palestinian lives overall.

Israel’s colonial history and definition as a Jewish state would seem to “make Palestinian allegiance to it inherently contradictory.” (p. 16) Why, then, does about one per cent of the Palestinian community in Israel enlist? Based on her training as an anthropologist, Kanaaneh does not set out to justify or to condemn, but rather to get to the heart of the matter. By interviewing 75 Palestinians, almost all males, who had enlisted, she learned that their main motivation was economic, not only the salary itself, but the benefits which accrue only to those who have done military service. Simply put, most of those interviewed felt that being a soldier was the only way to obtain the building permits and loans needed to buy a house and provide well for a family. For most, military service was not a first choice, but a necessity in view of the lack of other options.

The catch is that these benefits are far from guaranteed, even if one does complete military service. Even Druze, the only non-Jewish group to be conscripted, have been subject to extensive land confiscation, and some bedouins of the Naqab have never been granted Israeli citizenship despite having served in the army. Others have not even received a sought-after ID or residency permit. “The major problems facing Arabs in Israel - including land confiscation, municipal underfunding, discriminatory zoning, home demolitions, and the refusal to recognise villages - are also faced by Arab soldiers.” (p. 75)

Despite disappointment at broken promises, why do some Palestinians continue to volunteer for military service, seemingly cooperating in their own oppression? Kanaaneh compares her interview findings with common perceptions that Arab soldiers are either collaborators or duped, and finds that things are not so black-and-white. “Palestinian citizens of Israel who volunteer to serve in the Israeli military frame their military service as an attempt - often failed - at upgrading their citizenship status in Israel.” (p. 91) Moreover, “it is no coincidence that it is to the military that this small group turns in order to push the boundaries of their citizenship. For Israel is a military democracy at best.” (p. 7) Due to the military’s overwhelming importance, it is seen as the only way to access the patronage networks that enable one to cash in on benefits. Though imperfectly applied to Arabs, there is no other path in the existing situation. As one Arab soldier told Kanaaneh, it opens the door, but only halfway.

Kanaaneh analyses how the Israeli military deals with Arab soldiers. Like the state itself, the army subdivides the non-Jewish population, and sets them against each other, by creating a hierarchy where “Druze are at the top, followed by bedouins, and then Christians, with the remaining majority of non-Druze, non-bedouin Muslims at the bottom as the least-favoured type of citizen.” (p. 10) She examines how Arab soldiers are often organised in ethnic units, what missions they are most likely to be send on, and how they are treated by their Jewish officers and fellow soldiers. Despite potentially and often literally “shedding blood in the same mud,” none of the soldiers she interviewed felt that there was equality in promotions. (p. 101)

Kanaaneh also assesses the status of the Arab soldiers in their own communities, and broadens the scope of her study by comparing the situation of Palestinians in Israel with those in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, many of whom have also ended up working for their occupiers. She also compares with other colonial situations around the globe: Indians who served in the British army, the Buffalo soldiers in America and, more currently, how the US has speeded up citizenship proceedings for green card holders who served in Iraq. Throughout the book, questions of conflicted identity are highlighted, as is the relation between ethnic discrimination and military conflict, and other issues of universal interest.

As an added bonus, the book is highly readable; Kanaaneh’s precision in research is matched by her vibrant prose style, and her ability to look at extremely complex questions from many angles and draw objective, nuanced conclusions.

Sally Bland