It seems that elements of the specific skill-set of the Bedouin tribes have been highly attractive for the IDF, especially tracking. Manpower is also always scarce and was even more so in the past. It is also likely that the Bedouins see themselves as a quite distinct entity from other Arab groups which in turn made it possible for the Israeli state to initiate and conserve close military ties. Which has of course the additional benefit of denying the opponents to tap their potential.
In Italy as far as I recall the number of serving men from the ethnic minorities in the northern regions are low in propotion to their relative numbers. In general their standard of living is higher then the national average and they suffered under Italian nationalism so there are few incentives for them to volunteer. On the other hand considering the very small percentage of the minorities it was never deemed necessary to reach out to them. Overall the southern regions are greatly overreppresented in the lower ranks, which has of course to due with the economic circumstances in the last ten years.
For Italy the (military) integration of the immigrants should be a bigger topic, but military topics other than casualties suffered and spectacular hardware are hardly discussed in the Italian press. One might add the recent discussion about 'golden' retirements for senior figures to that list.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks