[News] The rush to preserve the sperm of slain soldiers exposes the deep militarism of Israeli society

[Anti-Imperialist News]

mondoweiss.net
<https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/the-rush-to-preserve-the-sperm-of-slain-soldiers-exposes-the-deep-militarism-of-israeli-society/?ml_recipient=107276582960235932&ml_link=107276518408849118&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=2023-12-11&utm_campaign=Daily+Headlines+RSS+Automation>
The rush to preserve the sperm of slain soldiers exposes the deep
militarism of Israeli society
Faris Giacaman
December 10, 2023
------------------------------
[image: 081023_Beersheba_ZU1-1024x736.jpg]

On Saturday night, October 7, amid Israel’s preparations for its most
violent forays into the Gaza Strip, a peculiar scene unfolded at an Israeli
hospital. Families of three fallen soldiers arrived with an unusual request
— to extract sperm from their deceased sons’ bodies. This procedure, known
as sperm utilization, had quietly gained traction in Israel over the years.
Scientific research suggests the possibility of sperm retrieval up to 72
hours after death, allowing what is medically referred to as Posthumous
Assisted Reproduction (PAR). Within the Israeli context, unlike anywhere
else, PAR has predominantly been associated with individuals affiliated
with the military. Following the events of October 7, the Israeli army took
it upon itself to inform every family of a fallen soldier about this option
and to facilitate the family’s contact with the necessary parties to carry
out the procedure. Since then, Israeli hospitals have extracted sperm
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-11-09/ty-article-magazine/.premium/we-operate-24-7-the-race-to-preserve-israeli-soldiers-sperm/0000018b-af34-dea2-a9bf-ffbee1470000>
from the bodies of numerous fallen servicemen.

The ethical quagmires surrounding this form of reproduction are not novel,
but in Israel, this phenomenon assumes a unique and deeply securitized
dimension. It transcends domestic boundaries, reflecting the deep
securitization and militarization of the nation. Servicemen are revered as
the embodiment of national masculinity, and the act of posthumous
fatherhood is perceived as a homage to these fallen soldiers — a means to
ensure their legacy endures. A striking manifestation of this
transformation from the intimate to the national is exemplified in cases
where soldiers had no partners. In such cases, families often seek female
volunteers, many of whom have never crossed paths with the deceased, to
potentially carry their children. Shockingly, recruiting these volunteers
has proven to be less challenging than expected. In fact, when families
sought volunteers or advertised their quest through media and social
platforms, they were met with overwhelming responses. The first recorded
case dates back to 2002, Keivan Cohen, an Israeli soldier killed in the
Gaza Strip. Within just one hour of making an announcement, his family
received 200 responses.

This inclination among Israeli women and couples to choose sperm from
soldiers is not surprising. The militarization of reproduction and
masculinity has a long history in Israel. Nevertheless, what is
particularly striking is that these preferences intensify during periods of
extreme violence against Palestinians. In 2014, during the Israeli war on
Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of over 2,000 Palestinians, the vast
majority of whom were civilians, Israeli sperm banks saw a surge in demand
for sperm from soldiers serving in combat units. Since then, sperm banks
have actively incorporated the military backgrounds of donors into their
profiles, with some banks even rejecting donors who haven’t served in the
army.

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Ad form Ram Bam hospital urging soldiers to donate sperm after the 2014 war
on Gaza. The text reads: “Man! Contribute to the maternal effort.” (Photo:
Yedioth Ahronoth)

During my research on PAR in Israel, I followed several cases of fallen
soldiers whose families publicly sought volunteers. But one particular case
struck me the most — the case of Barel, an Israeli soldier killed on the
Gaza border in 2021, where he served as one of the snipers responsible for
the deaths and injuries of hundreds of civilian protesters. Last year, his
mother took to her Facebook account in search of a volunteer willing to
conceive her son’s potential child. Her post read:

‘This is my son. He was tragically taken from us about six months ago by a
terrorist. I am seeking a woman who can wholeheartedly commit to our
family’s purpose, nurture my grandson, and become an integral, loving part
of our family. Over the past six months, Barel’s family and friends united
around a singular objective: to carry forward his legacy.’

On the mother’s Facebook page, alongside her plea for a volunteer to carry
her son’s child, was a photo of her standing beside what appeared to be a
military vehicle covered with Barel’s image. I later discovered that after
Barel’s death, a “civilian militia” was founded with the sole purpose of
preserving his name. Named Sayeret Barel (Hebrew for “The Barel Commandos”)
and described by several Israeli media outlets
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-10-26/ty-article/.premium/ben-gvirs-party-members-trying-to-form-armed-militia-in-tel-aviv-suburb/00000184-14e4-db1c-a5a7-fefd926c0000>
as an extreme right-wing group, the Sayeret Barel is, according to its
website, “a group of civilian soldiers who provide support to the army and
police.” Supported by the local government in Beersheba and the police
force, students from the southern city receive substantial grants in
exchange for enlisting in this military group. The establishment of the
militia is attributed to Almog Cohen, a Knesset member associated with the
Otzma Yehudit party, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, widely recognized as one of
the most extremist figures in Israel. Cohen openly advocates for the
expulsion of Palestinians and, during a public debate in Israel regarding
the role of this militia, he stated, “If Barel were alive, he would not
have waited for the police to act.”

“The connection between the two campaigns — one aiming to conceive a child
from Barel and the other seeking to establish a militia in his name to
perpetuate his legacy — is not coincidental. Several comments on the photo
shared by the mother emphasize that both a child and a military militia
serve his continuity. While reproductive preferences in a deeply
securitized society constantly produce and maintain forms of hegemonic
masculinity, the sought-after continuity is not solely that of an
individual as a family member, a son, or even a man, but primarily as a
soldier in a combat unit.

As scholars have argued, for women searching for sperm to mother,
information about the donor’s military background serves as an indication
of the potential personality of the future child. As described by researchers
in the field
<https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/bioethics-and-biopolitics-in-israel/life-after-death-the-israeli-approach-to-posthumous-reproduction/1D27B44F4BCFBAF95A46E10AC6999CD2>,
the warrior-donor is both the supplier of the product and the core product
itself, with his semen seen as the materialistic carrier of his spiritual
essence. This spiritual essence is perceived to be his militaristic role in
providing safety for the nation and carrying out its national missions. In
the Israeli case, these preferences have been deeply securitized,
especially when it comes to posthumous reproduction. As such, the belief
that the state owes the families of deceased soldiers access to this form
of reproduction represents a peculiar perspective unique to Israel.

This practice sheds light on the complex role of the medical institution
within a settler colonial order — a role underscored by recent events such
as a petition
<https://mondoweiss.net/2023/11/israeli-doctors-urge-the-bombing-of-gaza-hospitals/>
signed by numerous doctors urging the army to target hospitals in Gaza. But
more significantly, it illustrates a unique Israeli way of militarizing
reproduction, where medicine, masculinity, and militarism intersect,
ultimately fostering a settler colonial fantasy in which violence against
the indigenous population is not only sought after but closely tied to the
envisioned future of the settler nation.

Since the establishment of Israel on the ruins of Palestinian society, not
only has Palestinian fertility been viewed as a threat, but Jewish
reproductive capabilities have been seen as a source of security and
sustainability for the nation. Consequently, the ultimate colonial future
is envisioned through and around the capabilities of the muscular Jewish
man — in contrast to “the exiled weak Jew” and the fertile Jewish women.
This perspective is evident in Israeli regulations of assisted reproduction
technologies, as the country is considered one of the biggest markets
globally for such technologies. In Israel, the distribution of fertility
clinics that provide free services demonstrates this selective pronatalism,
as clinics exclusively exist in areas predominantly inhabited by Jewish
residents.

These militaristic preferences have shaped the very notions of womanhood
and manhood in Israel. As explained by Israeli researchers such as Nitza
Berkovitch
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277539597000551>,
not only is motherhood a national mission in Israel, but the formulation of
womanhood in Israel is built on considering Jewish women as mothers rather
than as citizens or individuals.

 In this context where women express their belonging to the nation
exclusively as (potential) mothers, Israeli manhood, as suggested by one of
Israel’s prominent sociologists, Baruch Kimmerling, is constructed around
the concept of the “pioneer” male fighter who deflowers the “virgin”
indigenous land. In these national gender performances, as Kimmerling
hints, it cannot be denied that these male fighters and the maternal
figures are immigrant settlers. The male warrior fights to protect the
colonial nation that will always remain in peril, and a woman is assigned
the mission to birth and rebirth the nation.
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