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On Nightline Tonight
December 2, 2003
TONIGHT'S FOCUS: They are among the most highly-decorated pilots in the Israeli Air Force, and they have effectively ended their careers, and they say they are doing it to save Israel. And while a solution to the problems in the Middle East seem as far away as ever, something as simple as birthrate may force the issue.
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There is a scene in the movie "Apocalypse Now" that became a favorite for many of us. And I mean the original version, not the expanded one. During the helicopter assault, the camera is tight on the face of one soldier who's sitting in the chopper as the other soldiers jump out. He's yelling "I'm not going, I'm not going." It became something of a running joke for those of us who were routinely sent off to bad places. We'd look at each other and say "I'm not going, I'm not going." At least it made us laugh.
But the story we're looking at tonight is not a laughing matter. 27 Israeli pilots signed a petition saying, in essence, "we won't go." They refused to participate in the so-called targeted assassinations, the attacks, usually carried out from the air, on specific Palestinians. Those attacks have often resulted in the deaths of bystanders as well. The pilots argue that these actions are hurting the state of Israel. And by going public, they have effectively ended their careers and faced withering criticism by both the Israeli government and much of the public. For the first time, they will appear on television, in a report by correspondent Hillary Brown from Jerusalem.
At the same time, there is something else going on in Israel that not too many people are paying attention to. It's called the demographic bomb by some Israelis. The birthrate among Palestinians is higher than that for Israelis. If current trends continue, Israelis will become the minority in Israel in the next fifteen to twenty years. What repercussions would that have? Whatever their political beliefs may be, some Israelis point to this trend and say the only solution is to have two separate states, Palestine and Israel. This is one of those instances where the facts on the ground may overtake politics and force some sort of solution. -----------
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