For what military position was Karola Ruth Siegel Westheimer trained by the Israeli army?

serpa

"After Israel declared its independence in 1948, Ruth joined the Israeli army. They decided her exceptionally small stature would be an asset for concealment, and trained her as a sniper. Soon after, Ruth sustained serious injuries from an enemy artillery shell while serving guard duty." We know her as Dr. Ruth. http://www.nndb.com/people/273/000023204/ Sep 13 09, 9:20 AM

Arpeggionist

The Israeli army used a good number of odd people for deception tactics in the war of 1948, and even for some combat missions. One "battle" involved Leonard Bernstein leading some 5,000 "troops" into a hole in the ground near B'er Sheva, where the Egyptian forces thought they were training (but in fact all were there for a concert with the Philharmonic, where Bernstein played and conducted Mozart's 17th piano concerto). Sep 13 09, 12:09 PM

queproblema

Very interesting question, Bry. And Arpy's contribution, if off-topic, is equally interesting. (Off-topic because Ruth Siegel wasn't yet "Dr. Ruth," whereas Bernstein, though only 30 years old, was already gaining an international reputation as, um, Leonard Bernstein.) Here's more of the story, which I'd never heard: "There in the desert, an archeological dig served as the concert venue, its high walls creating a three-sided amphitheater, and a makeshift stage was constructed... "Estimates of the audience-size ranged from one to five thousand, but in any case, when Egyptian planes reported sighting troops massing in large numbers in Beersheba, Egypt withdrew its troops from a position menacing Jerusalem in order to re-deploy them for what seemed an imminent Israeli attack in the Negev...." http://www.leonardbernstein.com/hc_beersheba.htm (B'er Sheva = Beersheba) Sep 13 09, 4:50 PM