#i'm no longer a huuuuuuuge fan of the show because it relies a lot on those kind of jokes

[honeylikewords]

hi there! i hope this doesn’t come across as rude, and if it makes you uncomfortable i’m so sorry, it’s really not my intention i’m just genuinely curious! but i wondered what you thought about jon playing a character linked with the israeli special forces? do you not think being affiliated with that specific force is a little ‘problematic’ for lack of a better word? not job himself of course, i understand he’s just playing a character at the end of the day, but i wondered your thoughts.

It’s okay! First of all, thank you for being considerate in how you phrased this. I know it’s a delicate topic, and I am happy to discuss it, but I am very grateful that you are approaching it in a thoughtful manner. Second, let’s talk about where I stand on this, and how I hope to handle the topic!

I like Ilan as a character. I do. But you are right, the situation surrounding the Israeli government, its use of force, and its military is absolutely unbelievably dangerous and problematic, and not something I support. To be entirely clear, I do not support the violence being used in and around Israel to suppress and oppress people of differing faiths, ethnicities and cultures. It’s horrifying and by no means something I have any affiliation with, nor any support for.

I believe the inclusion of that particular force as his background was for dramatic effect-- the show runs on a lot of exaggerated references to ‘problematic’ topics as jokes-- but that doesn’t really dampen the reality that there is a huge amount of political unrest and violence being perpetrated by that government. It was intended as a joke, but that doesn’t mean I support it.

I intend to write about Ilan as an investigative journalist, in future. I don’t intend to erase the fact that he is Israeli-- that in and of itself is by no means problematic-- and there will obviously be a recognition that he is, in some way, militarily trained. But I don’t intend to write in a manner that seems condoning of that government or supportive of the clear abuses perpetrated by the systems it operates.

I don’t think Ilan, himself, is problematic. Not really. Nothing his character actually does seems to be reflective of problematic traits. The reference to the IDF/ISF seemed to be more a throwaway line to exaggerate how dramatic and horrifying his past was, and then show how goofy it is that he’s being ‘broken’ by Titus. 

I think we can keep Ilan and enjoy him, so long as we distance our enjoyment of him from any support of the actual political situation. It’s the sort of the same as being able to enjoy the character of Shane without being condoning of the police system’s current and historic abuses of brutality, although the situation surrounding Shane is about 100x worse (because he, in his character, makes DEEPLY problematic choices, completely separate from his profession as police officer). 

So, how can we break this down more simply? Well, TL;DR: I don’t think the role of Ilan is actually that problematic.

I think his character is fine. I don’t think we need to take the reference to his past to be the be-all-end-all of him, since clearly he is removed from that, now, and his character is more up for fanon changes, so we don’t really even have to pay that close attention to anything about his past, period. 

I sincerely dislike, disapprove of, and cannot support the IDF/ISF and do not wish for my work about Ilan to be seen, in any way, as a vote of support for them. My work about Ilan is exclusively about the fact that I like Jon’s work, I think his character was cute, and his brief on-screen time was enjoyable.

I do think we should be critical about the media we consume. I do think we should ask questions about why something is being said in the way it’s said. I do think we should assess jokes and ask ‘is that really funny, or are you just expecting people to laugh at something horrifying?’, and I think we need to be concerned about and aware of what we give our support to.

But I think Ilan is workable. I don’t think we need to, as the saying goes, throw the baby out with the bath water. We can take the baby (Ilan) and put him in new, fresh water (fanon material where he is Not Affiliated With That Organization). That’s fine, I think, at least in this situation.

Again, it’s a sliding scale of how we determine these things. Some people are going to feel one way while others may feel a different way. We need to just be thoughtful and come to our own conclusions about it, and then see if that conclusion is helpful to other people. I, personally, think Ilan is fine. Other people may not, and I’m here to listen to that and consider their side of the argument, too.

But, at least from where I stand, he seems salvageable from that ‘joke’, like a peach one cuts a bruised spot off of. 

Anyway, that’s just my take on things, and I think it’s a fairly reasonable one. But, if more information comes up, I’m fine with changing my mind and my perspective on things.

I hope that helps!

(D/o/n’t r /e /b /l /o /g, since this isn’t a discourse blog or anything. Also, please don’t ask about my feelings on the Isr.ael/Pale.stine conflict or other things like that. This isn’t the space for it, and I won’t answer questions about it.)