Former students sound alarm over school's links to Israeli army

Former students at a high school in the South African city of Cape Town have raised concerns that the seat of learning is serving as a recruitment tool for the Israeli army.

Three former students at the Herzlia High School told Middle East Eye that faculty, including the school's principal, along with guest speakers, would often encourage students to enlist in the Israeli army.

"The ethos of the school and the Jewish community is that that's just what you do," Ethan Jacobs, a former Herzlia student, told MEE.

"No one ever rocks up at school in uniform with a gun - it's not as on-the-nose as that. But there are often soldiers who come and talk about what it's like being in the Israeli army.

"Many of our teachers were in the IDF [Israeli army]. You never hear the words 'you should go and serve in the IDF' but it's definitely a message that is sent by the school and received by the students."