The article, written by an unnamed platoon commander last week, reads:
"During the course of the past week, my battalion stood opposite those opposing the Disengagement. At the beginning, we were stationed on the road to Kisufim Crossing, in case ant-Disengagement protesters broke through the police perimeters surrounding Kfar Maimon. Later on, we were sent to Kfar Maimon itself, where we surrounded the community's fence.
"We survived 36 hours without bathing facilities, toothbrushes, or normal sleeping facilities, but it was a very important experience for the soldiers. At the fences, there was constant interaction between the soldiers and the demonstrators.
"Many soldiers from the battalion take part in forums creating dialogue between religious and secular Israelis. Many of them joyously met friends of theirs from those forums at Kfar Maimon. My sergeant, for example, saw and spoke with religious girls that he had become acquainted with just one month earlier under completely different circumstances.
"Instead of struggling with the demonstrators, what I saw before my eyes were soldiers standing and talking with the demonstrators - it was a surreal scene.
"The protest at Kfar Maimon had a profound effect on my soldiers. The demonstrators stood and sang, 'We love you, IDF soldiers.' Many of the soldiers who arrived with preconceived notions about the demonstrators were faced with the reality that these were not those people [they expected].
"Of course, there were also cases that were less pleasant. One of my female soldiers met, on the other side of the fence, a childhood friend of hers that had become religiously observant. Her friend berated her and said that [the fencing in of Jews] at Kfar Maimon reminded her of the Holocaust. Afterward, I spoke with the soldier and understood that she took this very hard, but to my relief, she recovered very quickly."
"During the course of the past week, my battalion stood opposite those opposing the Disengagement. At the beginning, we were stationed on the road to Kisufim Crossing, in case ant-Disengagement protesters broke through the police perimeters surrounding Kfar Maimon. Later on, we were sent to Kfar Maimon itself, where we surrounded the community's fence.
"We survived 36 hours without bathing facilities, toothbrushes, or normal sleeping facilities, but it was a very important experience for the soldiers. At the fences, there was constant interaction between the soldiers and the demonstrators.
"Many soldiers from the battalion take part in forums creating dialogue between religious and secular Israelis. Many of them joyously met friends of theirs from those forums at Kfar Maimon. My sergeant, for example, saw and spoke with religious girls that he had become acquainted with just one month earlier under completely different circumstances.
"Instead of struggling with the demonstrators, what I saw before my eyes were soldiers standing and talking with the demonstrators - it was a surreal scene.
"The protest at Kfar Maimon had a profound effect on my soldiers. The demonstrators stood and sang, 'We love you, IDF soldiers.' Many of the soldiers who arrived with preconceived notions about the demonstrators were faced with the reality that these were not those people [they expected].
"Of course, there were also cases that were less pleasant. One of my female soldiers met, on the other side of the fence, a childhood friend of hers that had become religiously observant. Her friend berated her and said that [the fencing in of Jews] at Kfar Maimon reminded her of the Holocaust. Afterward, I spoke with the soldier and understood that she took this very hard, but to my relief, she recovered very quickly."