Background
Joel Chasnoff grew up in Chicago, Illinois, in a Conservative Jewish household with his parents and two younger brothers.
( Look at me. Do you see me? Do you see me in my olive-gr...)
Look at me. Do you see me? Do you see me in my olive-green uniform, beret, and shiny black boots? Do you see the assault rifle slung across my chest? Finally! I am the badass Israeli soldier at the side of the road, in sunglasses, forearms like bricks. And honestly -- have you ever seen anything quite like me? Joel Chasnoff is twenty-four years old, an American, and the graduate of an Ivy League university. But when his career as a stand-up comic fails to get off the ground, Chasnoff decides it's time for a serious change of pace. Leaving behind his amenity-laden Brooklyn apartment for a plane ticket to Israel, Joel trades in the comforts of being a stereotypical American Jewish male for an Uzi, dog tags (with his name misspelled), and serious mental and physical abuse at the hands of the Israeli Army. The 188th Crybaby Brigade is a hilarious and poignant account of Chasnoff's year in the Israel Defense Forces -- a year that he volunteered for, and that he'll never get back. As a member of the 188th Armored Brigade, a unit trained on the Merkava tanks that make up the backbone of Israeli ground forces, Chasnoff finds himself caught in a twilight zone-like world of mandatory snack breaks, battalion sing-alongs, and eighteen-year-old Israeli mama's boys who feign injuries to get out of guard duty and claim diarrhea to avoid kitchen work. More time is spent arguing over how to roll a sleeve cuff than studying the mechanics of the Merkava tanks. The platoon sergeants are barely older than the soldiers and are younger than Chasnoff himself. By the time he's sent to Lebanon for a tour of duty against Hezbollah, Chasnoff knows everything about why snot dries out in the desert, yet has never been trained in firing the MAG. And all this while his relationship with his tough-as-nails Israeli girlfriend (herself a former drill sergeant) crumbles before his very eyes. The lone American in a platoon of eighteen-year-old Israelis, Chasnoff takes readers into the barracks; over, under, and through political fences; and face-to-face with the absurd reality of life in the Israeli Army. It is a brash and gritty depiction of combat, rife with ego clashes, breakdowns in morale, training mishaps that almost cost lives, and the barely containable sexual urges of a group of teenagers. What's more, it's an on-the-ground account of life in one of the most em-battled armies on earth -- an occupying force in a hostile land, surrounded by enemy governments and terrorists, reviled by much of the world. With equal parts irreverence and vulnerability, irony and intimacy, Chasnoff narrates a new kind of coming-of-age story -- one that teaches us, moves us, and makes us laugh.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416549323/?tag=2022091-20
Joel Chasnoff grew up in Chicago, Illinois, in a Conservative Jewish household with his parents and two younger brothers.
He attended Solomon Schechter Day School, where he describes himself as the smallest boy in his class and relied on humor to stand out.
His second-grade teacher, who was a native of Israel, helped inspire his connection to Israel. As a teen he traveled to Israel several times, including at age 13 with his family. He returned for a second trip at age 17, and later co-led a six-week Jewish teen tour to Poland and Israel.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, and a half-hearted attempt at a stand-up career in New York City, Chanoff enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces at age 24.
From 1997 to 1998 he served as a tank gunner in the 188th Armored Brigade in south Lebanon. His service included two months of Basic Training, two months of Tank School, three months of Advanced Warfare Training, followed by a tour of duty in South Lebanon, where he participated in operations against Hezbollah.
During one such operation, Chasnoff wreaked havoc when he refused to fire on a pair of enemy combatants in an Open Fire Zone. After an investigation, it was determined that the combatants were actually Dutch United Nations soldiers who had wandered into the Open Fire Zone by accident, and Chasnoff was exonerated of charges of disobedience.
During his time of service Chasnoff attempted to marry his Israeli girlfriend, only to discover that he was not considered halakhically Jewish by the official Rabbinate of Israel and was thus unable to marry in the Jewish state.
He"s been the warm-up act for Jon Stewart and Lewis Black of The Daily Show, and went on a United Service Organizations Tour of the Far East entertaining American Marines.: A Skinny Jewish Kid from Chicago Fights Hezbollah - A Memoir By: Joel Chasnoff, (Simon & Schuster, February 9, 2010) The Big Book of Jewish Humor, William Novak, Moshe Waldoks, (Collins, 2006) The Complete Idiot"s Guide to Jokes, Larry Getlen, (Alpha, September 5, 2006).
(188th Crybaby BrigadeChasnoff, Joel)
( Look at me. Do you see me? Do you see me in my olive-gr...)
He was impressed by Israeli soldiers when he visited, and said he felt guilty about not doing something to help defend the country himself. His unit was responsible for defending Israel’s north, including the Golan Heights and the Syrian border.