WEBVTT - Young soldier, old soul

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<v Speaker 1>From The Australian. Here's what's on the Front. I'm Claire Harvey.

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<v Speaker 1>It's Tuesday, January seventh. A Bhutanese born man who attacked

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<v Speaker 1>his partner with a meat cleaver will be allowed to

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<v Speaker 1>stay in Australia despite the former Immigration Minister Andrew Giles

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<v Speaker 1>canceling his visa. That's the latest Federal court decision highlighting

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<v Speaker 1>the Albanese government's botched attempts to deal with violent criminals

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<v Speaker 1>who don't want to leave.

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<v Speaker 2>Anyone who serves.

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<v Speaker 1>Alcohol should have mandatory rape training, according to a new

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<v Speaker 1>plan to improve the experience of sexual assault complainants. Those

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<v Speaker 1>two exclusives alive right now at the Australian dot com

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<v Speaker 1>dou we've told some remarkable stories from the Middle East

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<v Speaker 1>over the past eighteen months or so, and this is

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<v Speaker 1>one of our favorites at the Front, the personal story

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<v Speaker 1>of one man who gave his life in this conflict

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<v Speaker 1>that has taken so many young people. This episode was

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<v Speaker 1>first broadcast on October seven, twenty twenty four, the anniversary

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<v Speaker 1>of Hermas's attack on Israel, which triggered a catastrophic response.

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<v Speaker 1>Sixteen years ago, a little boy named tal Grushka appeared

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<v Speaker 1>on Israel's Channel twelve TV station, talking proudly about his

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<v Speaker 1>upcoming performance in a major piano competition.

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<v Speaker 3>Channel London MAJLONGHDA.

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<v Speaker 1>By twenty eighteen, that little boy was twenty years old,

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<v Speaker 1>a tall, muscular young soldier still in love with the piano.

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<v Speaker 1>He posted a video on YouTube, where he had fourteen subscribers,

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<v Speaker 1>of himself playing Bita Jhoven's Moonlight Sonata Part three. In

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<v Speaker 1>the video, Tall Grushka is wearing whipped denim shorts and

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<v Speaker 1>a T shirt, sitting at an upright piano. He's concentrating hard,

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<v Speaker 1>playing on through a few tiny mistakes. He's not looking

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<v Speaker 1>at any sheet music. He's learned this piece by heart

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<v Speaker 1>and a year ago today. Tal Grushka was a twenty

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<v Speaker 1>five year old major with the Israeli Army's Nahull Brigade

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<v Speaker 1>nine hundred and thirty first Battalion, based in the West Bank,

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<v Speaker 1>just south of Bethlehem. Early in the morning, they were

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<v Speaker 1>called to respond to a major terrorist attack unfolding to

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<v Speaker 1>the south Hamas fighters flooding over the border from Gaza

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<v Speaker 1>into rural villages including Kafar Azar. Grushka and his men

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<v Speaker 1>were racing to Kafa Azar to defend the civilians from

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<v Speaker 1>what would be one of the day's worst massacres, but

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<v Speaker 1>Grushka never made it. Their convoy was ambushed by Hamas

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<v Speaker 1>fighters a few hundred meters from kafa Aza, and when

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<v Speaker 1>Grushka opened the door of his armored vehicle, he was

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<v Speaker 1>shot dead.

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<v Speaker 4>Stunning developments in Israel as Palestinian militants fired thousands of rocket.

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<v Speaker 1>Mass today launched a major surprise attack on Israel.

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<v Speaker 5>Bi Air news reporter quoted an idea of commander who

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<v Speaker 5>mentioned the discovery of approximately forty babies who had been

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<v Speaker 5>subjected to horrifying violence, some beheaded.

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<v Speaker 1>There is the mother, the fathers, in the bedrooms, in

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<v Speaker 1>the protection rooms, and how the Tories killed them.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not at all, It's not a butterfit.

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<v Speaker 1>And on October tenth, as Israel reeled from the twelve

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<v Speaker 1>hundred deaths and hundreds of hostages taken in the attacks,

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<v Speaker 1>Teal Gushka was buried.

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<v Speaker 4>It's a military cemetery in an area called Kas Sabah,

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<v Speaker 4>and it was quite late at night and packed with people.

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<v Speaker 4>This was three days after October seven, at a time

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<v Speaker 4>when Israel was overrun with burials.

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<v Speaker 1>Johny Vashan is the Australian's journalist, and he'd scrambled to

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<v Speaker 1>get to Israel. Just hours after landing in Tel Aviv,

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<v Speaker 1>Johnny found himself among the mourners at Talgrushka's funeral.

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<v Speaker 3>There was actually four soldiers buried that evening.

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<v Speaker 4>Tahal was the first, and his funeral was held at

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<v Speaker 4>approximately ten pm inside that cemetery because similar services were

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<v Speaker 4>just taking place all over the country and at all hours.

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<v Speaker 4>So I just got off the plane, I'd just put

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<v Speaker 4>my bags down, and I had never attended a military

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<v Speaker 4>funeral in Israel before, but I found myself standing at

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<v Speaker 4>this event with Tult's family, who I knew through my

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<v Speaker 4>own family, but I'd actually never met them before, and

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<v Speaker 4>so there was an extra layer of poignancy.

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<v Speaker 1>Johnny has been back and forth to Israel over the

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<v Speaker 1>past year, and today in The Australian we're publishing his

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<v Speaker 1>interview with Teal Grushka's family.

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<v Speaker 4>The impression I got listening to Tal's family was that

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<v Speaker 4>he was a lovely guy, still very much of the

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<v Speaker 4>ten year old kid who loved the piano, and he

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<v Speaker 4>was actually a piano prodigy at a young age, but

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<v Speaker 4>that he'd grown into this strong, fearless soldier who just

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<v Speaker 4>believed in the mission of being a soldier. What was

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<v Speaker 4>clear to me was that he wasn't in the army

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<v Speaker 4>and pursuing a career in the army for the sake

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<v Speaker 4>of carrying a garn and wearing a uniform, which in

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<v Speaker 4>this country there is a lot of cachet that comes

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<v Speaker 4>with that, but Fatal doing these things was a.

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<v Speaker 3>Matter of security and safety for the Jewish people.

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<v Speaker 4>And I know this not just because his family told me,

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<v Speaker 4>but because I've read some of his writings and some

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<v Speaker 4>of his poetry which he posted online and which his

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<v Speaker 4>family had given to me.

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<v Speaker 3>But one of the other legacies of Tal as a

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<v Speaker 3>commander was.

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<v Speaker 4>That he was very insistent with his troops that every Friday,

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<v Speaker 4>just before the Shabbat weekend, they take out their mobile

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<v Speaker 4>phones and call their grandparents. And this is partly because

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<v Speaker 4>he had his own very strong connection with his own

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<v Speaker 4>own grandparents. And possibly the saddest side I could have

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<v Speaker 4>seen at his funeral was his grandfather standing there at

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<v Speaker 4>the microphone and saying goodbye to him too. The legacy

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<v Speaker 4>out of this is that this initiative of Tuls has

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<v Speaker 4>become something of a movement in Israel, not just on

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<v Speaker 4>social media, but fridge magnets have been printed, and there's

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<v Speaker 4>a partnership with one of the telephone companies, and the

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<v Speaker 4>university here has been promoting what Tull was doing with

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<v Speaker 4>his soldiers.

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<v Speaker 3>So there's this message that's going out there. Every Friday,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, call your grandmother.

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<v Speaker 4>Even among the people I've encountered on this reporting trip

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<v Speaker 4>to Israel, I hear about young people making more of

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<v Speaker 4>an effort to call their elderly relatives.

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<v Speaker 3>So it's undoubtedly having some sort of impact.

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<v Speaker 1>In Israel. As in many societies where military service is

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<v Speaker 1>a part of life, there's a thread in popular.

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<v Speaker 2>Culture of the thoughtful warrior poet.

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<v Speaker 1>Who dreams of better times.

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<v Speaker 2>Yo, but I'm a soldier, and don't you cry for me?

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<v Speaker 1>Girl, goes the chorus of this nineteen seventy nine hit

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<v Speaker 1>by one of Israel's biggest stars, Shlomo Aatzi. Israel has been,

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<v Speaker 1>by choice and by circumstance, a warrior state since it

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<v Speaker 1>was founded in nineteen forty eight, after centuries of persecution

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<v Speaker 1>and after six million Jews were murdered in Adolf Hitler's Holocaust.

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<v Speaker 1>The United Nations split a tiny sliver on the eastern

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<v Speaker 1>shore of the Mediterranean roughly in half, and called one

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<v Speaker 1>slice Palestine and the other slice Israel. An acknowledgment that

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<v Speaker 1>Jews and Muslims both regard this as their holy land.

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<v Speaker 1>The idea was to give Jews somewhere safe to live forevermore,

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<v Speaker 1>but the fighting has gone on ever since. October Evan

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty three was just the latest iteration har Mass

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<v Speaker 1>fighters swarming into Israel from Gaza and Israel pounding Gaza

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<v Speaker 1>with a stated aim of returning the hostages, eliminating her

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<v Speaker 1>Maas and destroying the tunnels under the strip. Her Mass,

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<v Speaker 1>which began as an elected government but which morphed into

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<v Speaker 1>a totalitarian regime, hasn't allowed Gazans a free vote since

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and six. It brought on this conflict with

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<v Speaker 1>an intention of galvanizing the world against Israel, and paying

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<v Speaker 1>the price have been Gaza's civilians, with ha Mass claiming

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<v Speaker 1>forty thousand have died in this year of bloodshed, and

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<v Speaker 1>in Israel, a sense of complacency and tranquility, particularly for

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<v Speaker 1>the post Holocaust generations, have been completely shattered. Israel has

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<v Speaker 1>quite a remarkable missile defense system called the Iron Dome,

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<v Speaker 1>which has protected it in a lot of instances from

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<v Speaker 1>rocket fire coming in.

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<v Speaker 2>From over its borders.

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<v Speaker 1>But October seven really shattered their sense of safety and

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<v Speaker 1>their sense of faith in the Israeli state to protect them,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't it.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, And one of the drawbacks of having an irondome

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<v Speaker 4>system is that in Israel's case, it didn't have as

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<v Speaker 4>much of an urgency to take care of the rockets

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<v Speaker 4>being fired from Hamas in Gaza for many, many years

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<v Speaker 4>because it had the safety of the Irondome system. So

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<v Speaker 4>as long as it was working and as long as

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<v Speaker 4>missiles weren't landing in Israeli population centers, there was no

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<v Speaker 4>great need from the Israeli army to mount any kind

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<v Speaker 4>of incursion into Gaza or what Israeli sometimes call a

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<v Speaker 4>grass cutting mission, where you go in and mow the

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<v Speaker 4>lawn to get rid of the problem and wait until

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<v Speaker 4>it grows back.

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<v Speaker 3>But because of that circumstance, you've got a.

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<v Speaker 4>Situation on October seven where hundreds, even thousands of Hamas

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<v Speaker 4>fighters and even ordinary Gazans have stormed across the border

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<v Speaker 4>infiltrated Israel. And what happened was Israel's military was left

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<v Speaker 4>flat footed by what happened.

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<v Speaker 3>It was caught off guard.

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<v Speaker 4>So I guess we're left in a situation where even

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<v Speaker 4>now one year on, there's approximately one hundred and one

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<v Speaker 4>Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza. And so the

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<v Speaker 4>compact between the state and the people, in which a

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<v Speaker 4>person gives three years of their life to military conscription

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<v Speaker 4>and in return they're assured of that safety and security,

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<v Speaker 4>the image of that, or the symbolism of that, seems

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<v Speaker 4>to have been fractured, in part because Israelis are looking

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<v Speaker 4>at Gaza and seeing their countrymen still held in captivity,

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<v Speaker 4>and while the army is doing whatever it can to

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<v Speaker 4>try and get them out, they are being hamstrung. They

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<v Speaker 4>haven't been returned, and so that has had a devastating

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<v Speaker 4>impact on faith in the army and faith in the

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<v Speaker 4>security establishment. Although it's not totally broken, there are certainly

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<v Speaker 4>some people who are asking themselves what it's all for

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<v Speaker 4>at this point.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for joining us on the front for this fresh

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<v Speaker 1>cut of one of our favorite episodes from the past

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<v Speaker 1>twelve months. We'll be back with all new episodes from

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<v Speaker 1>January eleven, and in the meantime, you can check out

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<v Speaker 1>all Australia's best journalism at the Australian dot com dot

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<v Speaker 1>au