Rape Allegations Continue at Israeli Air Force Base

The continuing story regarding the alleged rape of a 14 year old girl on Israel’s large Negev Air Force base, now has an added twist with the possibility of American air force personnel also being involved. The victim, now living on the base with her parents now has admitted to having sexual relations with several men, including U.S. servicemen working with their Israeli counterparts. Due to the ‘victim’ being a minor, what might have been considered as consensual acts, are considered as statutory rape.

The men, who agreed to these acts, claim that they thought that the girl was of legal age, which in Israel is 16. Originating from a town located near the large southern Negev facility, the girl even admitted that she began having such relations with men on the base since she was 13. The controversy surrounding these allegations stems from, first the age of the girl, and next, the personnel she has been involved with: military personnel, many of whom twice her age.

Sexual promiscuity is a phenomenon that has been on the increase in Israel for years, due to a laxity of morality and the influence of the internet and other media that offer material and programs of sexual misconduct. Both boys and girls are becoming sexually active at much younger ages, some even as pre-teens. The situation has reached a state that instead of trying to promote more sex education in schools and other institutions, parents simply give up and only try to make sure that their daughters don’t become pregnant by having the family doctor or gynecologist dispense prescriptions for birth control pills. While this may help eliminate problems of unwanted pregnancy, it doesn’t prevent their children from contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

In the case of the incident at the Air Force facility, the possibility that American service personnel may be involved is turning a formerly local affair into an international incident that could even become an issue during Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s scheduled trip to Washington. Statutory rape is usually a crime subject to imprisonment for up to 5 years. In the case of military service personnel, both Israeli and American, conviction for such a crime would also result in grave military penalties, including severe reduction in rank and even court martial.

Incidents of ‘gang rape’ or violent induced sexual acts without consent are also in the increase and with increased reporting by the victims of such traumas, are becoming more noted in the news media. Taking all of this into account, it might be a good idea for the country’s leaders and educators to join forces to promote more sex education programs in the schools, as well as within the military itself.

How this investigation will finally end, and who will be actually indicted (military units often try to protect their own to prevent loss of morale) will only be known as the case progresses. Unless the morality of our youth begins to improve, more such incidents are bound to become noted by the media.

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