| Nothing New Under the Gun |
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| Written by Sydney Schwartz | |||||
| Monday, 17 January 2005 | |||||
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Reenacting Israel's Wars Baruch Willis crouched down in his vintage 1948 British fatigues and peered out over the edge of the trench. Several Jordanian soldiers faced him from a ditch across the field. A small Israeli flag, stuck in the ground nearby, fluttered in the southern California breeze. His men were in position. Willis blew his whistle and yelled “Acharai! Acharai!” “Follow me!” He led his small battalion, dressed in a mélange of khaki and olive drab, across the 50-foot airfield to victory. “We were shooting our guns. They were shooting at us,” Willis said afterward, describing his planned reenactment. “We took them over. They played dead.” Willis and his friends had represented soldiers from Machal, a group of international volunteers who fought for Israeli independence in 1948. They were dressed in World War II American and British uniforms and carried authentic British and Czechoslovakian guns—all loaded with blanks. This reenactment had focused on the 1948 battles around Jerusalem, which were crucial to the War of Independence itself: Jordanians besieged the Jewish quarter and the Jews had to fight to get their food and ammunition into the city, explains Willis. “They fought a series of battles to break the siege—to get convoys in. That’s pretty much what we were doing,” he says. Baruch Willis is a 40-year-old special education and ESL teacher at a Santa Monica middle school. He is also the founder and driving force behind a group dedicated to reenacting Israeli Defense Force battles from the time of its origins in the Haganah, Palmach, and other groups that fought for Israeli Independence—using authentic costumes, weapons, and military strategy. The unit’s first (and so far, only) battle took place last April at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California, about 60 miles south of Los Angeles. Though it lasted only minutes, it helped Willis’ group gain recognition among U.S. military veterans and amateur military historians interested in the achievements of the Israel Defense Force. “The Israelis have won all of their wars—in the case of most of them against horrendous odds,” says Maksim Hannon, a member of Willis’ group. “When you’re a historian and you look at modern warfare, most of the exciting stuff has happened in the Middle East.” Indeed, Willis’ IDF reenactment group—the first and only in the country—has garnered the interest of dozens of American war historians, though Israelis and the Jewish community have received it more ambiguously, and in fact, Willis is one of only two or three Jews in the organization of nearly 20. To Willis, reenacting IDF battles provides a window into Israeli history that couldn’t be found anywhere else. But though Willis’ reenactments focus strictly on the past, they also bring to mind questions that couldn’t be more current: whether accuracy is really the key to historical truth—and why we should remember the grit of battles past at all. American war reenactments have been taking place for nearly as long as Americans have been fighting wars. After the Civil War, the activity became a popular hobby. It generated clubs and conventions; particularly influential was a 1913 U.S. army reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg, attended by many Civil War veterans, that celebrated the battle’s 50th anniversary. In recent years, internet message boards have brought communities of reenactors together online, while war films such as Saving Private Ryan have inspired a younger generation of military historians. Now, thousands of Americans restage battles from the Civil War, World Wars I and II and the Korean and Vietnam wars each year. Ranging in age from elementary school students to retirees, they reenact as a hobby, reliving American battles through hands-on history. Willis himself is a long-time amateur military historian and American war reenactor. He started reenacting at the age of 15, when he attended a Civil War reenactment in honor of America’s bicentennial, and went on to become involved in World War I and World War II reenactments. He has recently joined the California National Guard. Willis’ parents were very supportive of his reenacting when he was a child, thinking that it kept him out of trouble. Today, however, “They think I’m nuts—a bunch of grown men running around in uniforms playing war,” he says. To Willis, though, reenacting is much more than a game. He sees reenactments as an effective method of lifting the past out of history books and preventing it from being forgotten. “History is one of the most boring subjects that’s taught,” he says. “My opinion is that the only way to teach history is by making it come to life.” And in the case of Israeli history, the military is key. “Israel would not exist without their wars,” says Willis. “I think it’s good for Jewish American children to know a lot about their heritage and the sacrifices made for the state of Israel.” While he has always been interested in IDF history, Willis says, it was the current Intifada that inspired him to start the group. “I thought there was a need for a deeper appreciation—how Israel got to where she is right now and an appreciation for soldiers in Israel,” he says. So in the winter of 2003, he put a note on a World War II reenactors message board mentioning his interest in founding an Israeli Defense Forces group. He got an immediate response from Ben Dill, a 17-year-old high school student from Orange County. Dill, who had been participating in World War II reenactments since age 15, says he has always been interested in Israeli culture and history. His parents, evangelical Christians, had visited twice and inspired him to learn more about the country’s history. Maksim Hannon, whom Willis met through one of the many Israel-related web sites Hannon runs—including an Israeli-Arab War Gaming site and message boards dedicated to different Israeli wars and units of the IDF—helped Willis set up a Yahoo Group for his IDF reenactors’ group. “It helps his guys get together,” says Hannon, an American military veteran who once volunteered with Sar-El, a non-combatant program in the IDF. To prepare for his reenactments, Willis did photographic, oral, and written research in consultation with professor Jason Fenton of Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California. Fenton, the author of Volunteers in the War of Independence, fought with Machal in 1948 and currently runs a Machal veterans group. As a result of Fenton’s help and his own attention to detail, Willis’ reenactments are highly accurate living history presentations. The group’s first presentation was in May, 2003 at the Israel Independence Day Festival in Los Angeles, where Willis and Dill set up an Israeli campsite representing those that would have been pitched in the Negev desert in 1948. They pitched three American World War II tents, cordoned off the area with rope, and brought groups of children on tours of the site. “We would explain what we were doing and the different soldiers who were with me would tell a little about their helmets, the kind of food they ate,” Willis says. “Then we’d take a group of kids out and teach them how to march, in Hebrew.” Three Machal veterans, including Fenton, sat with Willis’ group talking to visitors about their experiences. “They dressed up as War of Independence Machalniks and marched around with German Mausers—the same rifle we used in ’48,” Fenton says. Willis explains that he chose to portray soldiers from 1948 because he had better access to equipment from that era than from later Israeli army years. The approximately 3,500 Machal soldiers wore predominately British and American military garb, and Britain and Czechoslovakia supplied Israel with weapons. “Ironically, the rifles they supplied—the main weapons of Israel—were actually surplus weapons used by the Nazis,” Willis says. “A lot of the weapons the Jewish forces used still had swastikas.” During a typical reenactment, Willis carries approximately 60 pounds of authentic equipment, including ammunition, food, a blanket, and a toilet kit, which he buys from reenactment companies or on eBay. “I can make toilet paper labels. It’s off the internet,” he says. “You can print the papers. You fold the paper a certain way, as it was back then. Reenactors, you know, we have a very big network.” As his group developed, Willis discovered that many military historians are intrigued by the Israel Defense Forces, regardless of their connection to Israel or the Jewish community. Bill Benson, a former U.S. marine, says he joined Willis’ group out of professional respect: when he was stationed in Israel, he was impressed by the Israel Defense Forces and even dated an IDF soldier for a short time. “It’s an opportunity for me to learn a little something about this organization that I’ve heard about that’s legendary,” Benson says. Benson, who lives in Washington State, says that another reason for joining was that he owns a period jeep, which could come in handy for reenacting the 1967 war. He is currently planning reenactments with Ben Dill, who recently moved to nearby Idaho. And long-distance as that relationship may seem, Dill and Benson are among the closest members of Willis’ message-board group, which includes participants scattered throughout the world, from West Virginia to Germany. The three German members, none of whom are Jewish, are veterans of the modern German army who became interested in Israeli military history after vacationing in the Holy Land. They have been reenacting the 1967 war for several years, according to Willis, and also participate in World War II reenactments, in which they dress up as Nazi soldiers. “This is an irony,” says Willis. Despite his group’s global roster, Willis has had difficulty finding participants for his reenactments—especially ones willing to portray soldiers in the Arab armies. One member of Willis’ group, a Lebanese Christian, regularly acts as an Arab in the Israeli army. And during the reenactment at March Field, a Boy Scout troupe volunteered to play Israelis. But Willis could not find anyone willing to portray Arab soldiers, so he asked a group of teenagers, participating in a Vietnam War reenactment that day, to stand in. The teenagers agreed, and fought Willis’ group wearing British uniforms with kaffiyehs that Willis had purchased on a college visit to Israel in 1982. “They did it to help us,” he says, “but they weren’t too happy portraying Arabs. Everyone wanted to be Israeli.” Indeed, whether they admire its military prowess or identify with Zionist ideology, members of the IDF-reenacting group are overwhelmingly supportive of Israel—which raises the question of whether sympathy and admiration ever colors their reenactments’ tone or accuracy. But, although political discussions arise frequently in their online message boards, the group members say that the reenactments are not for the purpose of pro-Israel activism, and that their group is not a political one. Rather, according to Hannon, what motivates military reenactment and war games groups is a passion for history and a fascination with the modern repercussions of historical battles. “It’s amazing to look at,” says Hannon. “In 1948, for instance, it was just this ragtag group facing organized armies. It was pretty much about will power. They were more motivated and more willing to fight and that’s why they won.” “It’s the underdog,” Willis added. “It’s always been outnumbered, yet it is one of the most successful military forces in the world.” Willis’ warmest welcomes have been at American military events and air shows, where the Israeli army representation has been greeted with enthusiasm. “I get comments like, ‘It’s about time,’ ‘It’s really great to see you guys.’ They may tell me a story about how when they were in the Marines, in the 70’s, they were sent to Israel for special training,” he says. “All these great stories come out.” The reaction from Israeli and Jewish groups has been more mixed, though Willis says he has made efforts to reach out to both. Beyond their living history demonstration at the Israeli Festival, the IDF reenactors participated in Israeli Culture Day this November at Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley, California—the same synagogue where Willis celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in 1977. B’nai Tzedek’s Hebrew School students visited stations representing different aspects of Israeli history and culture, with Willis’ display as the centerpiece. Willis hopes to expand his program to other Los Angeles area synagogues and Jewish schools, but has faced rejection at several Jewish institutions. While he believes that his reenactments can be educational for both Israelis and American Jews, he says he has found that American Jews are not that interested in Israel’s military achievements. “Most Jewish organizations, particularly in Los Angeles, really have no interest in military or military history,” he explains, adding, “I’m Jewish and I have a natural connection.” He says his group also received mixed reactions at the Israel Independence Day Festival and he is not confident they will be invited back this year. “I don’t think they liked us having the weapons,” he explains, “even though I got permission prior to that from the police and security.” Yoram Gutman, director of the festival, feels differently: “I think people generally liked it,” he says. “It added a little historical point for people to see and for people to learn.” But Gutman admits that he heard many criticisms of the presentation, particularly because Willis’ group was showing weapons to children. Or maybe it was more than that: perhaps Jewish groups and Israelis see IDF reenacting in a different light than do many American war historians. While American veterans reenact out of nostalgia or a desire to learn, most Israelis are veterans of Israeli-Arab conflicts themselves. “In our culture, being a soldier is much more of a nostalgic thing. It’s not something we live with every single day,” Willis says, pointing out that many Israelis view their mandatory army service quite differently from the way Americans view participation in the United States’ volunteer army. Willis noted that there are Israelis who have responded positively to the IDF reenacters: “These are older people who were actually in the wars, ‘73, ‘67 and before that,” he says. But though he hopes to eventually bring his reenactments to Israel, he is not confident that there will be interest there either. “I have a feeling that wouldn’t go over so big here,” agrees Zachary Kessin, an American who made aliyah and founded the first reenactment group in Israel, which focuses on pre-17th century Europe. “I enjoy reenactments when they are done well,” Fenton adds, “but part of doing them well involves authenticity. That may explain why some people have had negative reactions.” Perhaps IDF hits a bit too close to home; maybe reenacting a war is simply less appealing when the larger conflict remains unresolved. Gutman says that he would like to see the IDF reenactors return, but is not sure whether Willis will be allowed to bring weapons. “I think it was fun and I think it was appropriate because this is part of history. That’s the way Israel was established,” Gutman said. “But there are always a few who say, ‘why are we messing around with guns?’” When he does a living history presentation for children, Willis empties his pockets for them, displaying such items as period money, penknives, 1940’s pencils, and Chiclets. “Everything I have, even the underwear I wear, it’s completely authentic,” he says. But for all its emphasis on accuracy, historical reenactment brings with it the temptation to embellish. Recently, Willis was planning to stage a massacre of nurses and doctors, though the project is cancelled, partially because the woman who commanded the local World War II nurse unit recently passed away. This reenactment, Fenton warned Willis, would not have been historically accurate. “They planned to have their members dressed as Machal and Palmach riding in and rescuing the medical personnel while decimating the Arab irregulars,” Fenton says. “Of course, this never happened. Their view is that this is entertainment like a movie and they can take liberties with the truth. I pointed out that reenactment by its very name is more like a documentary and should keep as close to the truth as possible.” Willis defended his plans, explaining on the message board that the reenactment would have been intended more as a general skirmish than an actual battle. “This is how the majority of reenactments are,” he wrote. But the dispute brings up a question more crucial: Is reenactment about gaining a rich understanding of the past? Or do its practitioners enjoy it for the vicarious pleasure of portraying the predetermined winning side? Members of Willis’ group insist that historical truth is indeed paramount—that to them, learning history is about reliving its pain and its glory, right down to the rifle and the military badge. “When you’re doing living history, you don’t want to be half-assed. You want to have your facts down straight because you’re actually a teacher,” says Benson. Dill adds, “It’s a constant learning process. That’s one of the reasons I do it as well, because I always want to learn more.” To Willis, as proud as he might be of Israel’s military might, reenacting serves a much larger purpose than his own pleasure. “There’s a lot of people that’d rather not remember this,” he says. “I understand there’s some bad memories, but if you forget history, then you’re going to repeat it.”
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