Grandma's army

Feet on the ground, eyes in the sky. A typical day in the life of my grandson in the airforce.

Although eleven grandchildren so far, including the present four, have served in the IDF I still get a lump in my throat when I see them for the first time in   uniform. These carefree 18/19 year olds who, only yesterday,   were finishing   high school, have been transformed into serious, responsible adults, prepared to defend their country and protect its citizens. There hasn’t been a regular Jewish army for 1,800 years! Jews were known as the People of the Book and have had to survive without a Homeland all that time by using the only weapons they had – brains and ingenuity. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) was formed in 1948. On the very day that the State of Israel was declared in 1948 the Arabs began to attack the fledgling state - 6 wars and countless terrorist attacks later, they are still  attacking Israeli civilians of every age and gender. Consequently, in order to survive, the Israelis ' have had to apply the same brains and ingenuity (plus a good slic