Book Description

"Raised with a strong Jewish identity in New England, Adam Harmon visited Israel as a teenager in 1984. He immediately knew he wanted to live there. Six years later, the Palestinian Intifida was under way and Iraq had invaded Kuwait. Just out of college, Harmon was back in Israel, joining the military. Without family in the country, he was designated a chayal boded, or lonely soldier." "One of the few nonnatives to become an Israeli paratrooper - and already an "old man" in a country where service is compulsory after high school - Harmon describes the tough training and strict standards that define the Israeli combatant. From the very first push up to ambushes in Lebanon and operations in the West Bank, readers march alongside Harmon and discover the value of having retsach bi'anigh (murder in your eye) and learn why "time is holy."" "The Israeli military culture surprised Harmon. As within the U.S. military, Israeli soldiers avoid punishment only by being perfectionists, but the Israeli military has an unusually high regard for individualism. Commanders rely more on achieving consensus than on issuing orders, and every soldier is free to disobey an order he finds immoral." "Over the next thirteen years, Harmon was in the ranks of a military that was adapting to ever-changing threats. In 1990 killing was always used as a last resort, but by 2002 targeted assassinations were employed to "decapitate" terrorist gangs. Harmon's own wish for a separate Palestinian state never wavered, but his dismay at the increasing violence by Palestinians, desperate to achieve independence, mirrors the growing belief in Israel that a true rapprochement is not on the horizon."

About the Author

Adam Harmon grew up in New Hampshire and received his B.A. at American University’s School of International Service in 1989. Six months later, he moved to Israel. He served with the 202nd Paratrooper Battalion for two years, and was invited to serve with an Israeli Special Operations reserve unit. As such, he conducted operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, carried out missions in the West Bank and Gaza during the first Intifadah - including the capture of the PLO headquarters in Ramallah) - and served as a reservist throughout the Oslo Peace Process.

In 2002, when the second Intifadah reached its peak and the IDF called up its military reserves in order to retake control of the West Bank and Gaza, Adam flew back to Israel from the US, where he had been living and working, in order to serve. And again, in the following year, Adam returned to serve in the Jenin region. His unit took part in operations that led to the capture of a leader of the Islamic Jihad, several suicide bombers, and other organizers of terror. Now living in the United States, he continues to serve with the Israeli reserves.