Before career fairs, a lot of American Universities send emails out warning students that future employers will check their “Facebook” accounts for pictures which paints one in less than a flattering light…AKA most every picture taken in college.

Clearly the Israeli Army either didn’t pass that warning along or Eden Aberjil didn’t head the advice. Despite International uproar, she’s quoted as saying “I still don’t understand what wasn’t OK” about having her picture taken while grinning for the camera with an older Palestinian detainee bound and blindfolded behind her like most girls her age with pictures of themselves she then posted it on Facebook.

For girls her age, Israelis begin compulsory Army service at 18, not taking down pictures from last night’s sorority bash at worst results in loosing that great summer internship at a Wall Street Bank or a rather embarrassing phone call with mom and dad.

Like most things in the Middle East…its a little bit different when it comes to Facebook photos.  As word spreads that Israelis and Palestinians might finally sit back down for peace talks, Aberjil’s Facebook photos are now front and center on the world stage as they bare a slightly but disturbing resemblance to pictures of American soldiers humiliating prisoners at Abu Grab.

A military spokesman quickly called the pictures “shameless”, the Palestinians tried to grab the news-cycle by talking about how the pictures were indicative of the behavior of all Israeli soldiers and Aberjil thought she was just sharing memories of what she named her Facebook picture album “ The Army: best years of my life”. It might have ended there of course if there weren’t any other photos and if the military’s PR department had talked to young Aberjil.  To defend herself the young girl said in an interview “This is something that happens every day in the army, especially at bases like this,” and it appears she is right. An Isreali based group that documents the abuse of Palestinians released a number of other photos allegedly taken by soldiers and post on their Facebook accounts of young Israeli soliders ‘posing’ with detained or wounded Palestinians.

Of course a big question is what are we not seeing? What kind of behavior do soldiers engaged in that isn’t posted on Facebook.  Most American college students would answer…’nothing’. Their whole lives are put up for the world to see. But like most things in the Middle East things are a little different.  Perhaps the lesson is when 18-year-olds are trusted with things far beyond their years they might need more than a friendly email from career counseling to remind them: what you do on Facebook really may change your life and in this case the lives of thousands. Of course this brings up the lesson my mother taught me, and perhaps one that would have prevented all this, if you don’t do it…you never have to worry about somebody taking a picture of it.