by AMOS BARSHAD
The country’s hacking software is recognized the world over. Not everyone thinks it’s a good thing.
At age 18, K., like almost all Israelis, began his mandatory army service. “This was my way to give back to society and defend my country,” he says. “I was one of them. I was one of the radical ones.” From violent policing in the occupied West Bank to obscure, mundane office work, assignments in the Israeli Defense Forces vary wildly. K. remembers thinking, “Whatever job I’m given, I’ll do it.”
He also knew: “My head is stronger than my body. So, I thought, intelligence.”
After his initial assessment, K. was offered a chance to enter Unit 8200, an elite intelligence unit in the IDF. (K. spoke to Rest of World on condition of anonymity). Akin to the NSA, 8200 has attained an almost mythical cachet in the global tech industry. Graduates of 8200 go on to launch successful startups and land coveted jobs. Officially, an 8200 soldier’s status is classified both during and after service. Publicly, 8200 graduates happily boast of their experience in cover letters. In the many industries that touch their work, Unit 8200 is a brand name.
Post-8200 success comes at a cost: conscription to the unit requires five years of IDF service for many members. (The standard conscription period is currently 24 months for women, around 32 months for men). As for the incentives — what a post-8200 life might mean — K. says, “Other people around me did think about it. How it opened up doors afterwards. It’s there.” But for eighteen-year-old K., “being successful later in life and earning money and having a family and a house and whatever” wasn’t top of mind.
As K. recalls, the recruitment pitch directed toward him was more about the “caressing of ego.” He was told: “You’re the best. We chose you. You’re one in a million. Most people can’t handle this job. You’re a genius.” So he said yes.
K.’s family belongs to Israel’s old-school elite, made up of the children and grandchildren of the country’s founding generation. They are an economically privileged, majority Ashkenazi social class that, in years past, has made up a large percentage of IDF’s elite combat units. Within modern-day Israel, where there is no strong left-wing opposition remaining, this class’s political leanings are classified as liberal. “They are Zionist, but they think of themselves as peaceful,” K. explains, “as longing for peace.”
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