US lawmakers push to grant American soldiers serving in the Israeli army the same legal protections as US troops, in a move without precedent for any other foreign army. The bill would place some 20,000 dual citizens fighting for Israel on a legal par with Americans serving the US.
Details of the Israel first carve out was reported in Military.com. The legislation passing through Congress would, for the first time in American history, treat service in a foreign army as legally equivalent to service in the US armed forces — but only where that foreign army is Israeli occupation army.
Under H.R. 8445, an American returning from a tour with the IDF could demand their old job back from a US employer, halt a foreclosure on a US home, and benefit from interest-rate caps on US debt on the basis of foreign military service.
I should have been more clear. The US routinely prosecutes soldiers for all sorts of crimes having nothing to do with friendly fire. Examples include but are not limited to embezzlement, rape, torture and murder. There is no statute of limitation on murder.
Also, just because I’m a vet, it doesn’t mean that I’ve ever participated in a war. In fact, I haven’t. Unless you count being stationed in Germany during the cold war, manning a desk in a medical supply unit.