You may have caught Yonatan's latest article in the July/August issue of JVibe. He gave us the lowdown on what it's really like being in the Israeli army where dating is forbidden. Here, read another Israeli teen's thoughts on how teens get around this rule, why the rules were created, and the expectations Israeli teens have going into their army service.

Young people in every country have places where they meet each other, make friends and where relationships emerge. In the U.S., for example, this happens in college, high school and so on. In Israel, in addition to these places, we also have Israeli Defence Forces, or simply Tzahal.

If you ask an average Israeli high school student who is about to join the Israeli army what he anticipates, one of his answers will surely be to meet his or her girlfriend/boyfriend. Relationships during the army service are a very common thing in Israel. Who doesn't know a couple who met each other while in the army? As a matter of fact, it's hard to find an Israeli who doesn't have even a single love affair included in their, "When I Was in the Army" stories.

But according to Tzahal's code of ethics, having a normal relationship during the army service is not that simple. The main obstacle for dating in the army is the rules of Tzahal, according to which men and women can't get within several meters of one another. It goes without say that girls can't get close to the boys' dorms and the opposite, and if you ask the army–forget about showing affection of any kind (kisses, hugs and so on) for three years. Sounds crazy? This is the reality in which thousands of young Israelis live every day.

What was it like in the past? While our culture has become much more liberal, Tzahal has gone through the opposite process. Most of the rules in Tzahal which make dating in the army so difficult, are relatively new. As a result, Israeli teens witness an unusual phenomenon: their own parents, as teenagers, served in a more open-minded army (at least toward the soldiers' love lives) than they are serving right now. So Mom, Dad, no more: "When I was young..." stories!

These rules, however, were actually created for very good reasons. They are meant to protect the feelings of soldiers from different sectors in Israeli society. As you probably know, the army in Israel is obligatory. Every Israeli teenager at the age of 18, right after graduation from high school, must join the army. As a result, the army is made up of different people with different beliefs. Mixing of men and women may offend some soldiers' feelings and these rules prevent that from being an issue.

What's more is that these rules are meant to protect the women who serve in Tzahal. Since Tzahal has known some very serious sexual abuse stories, it's making huge efforts to prevent cases of this kind in the future.

And after all, Tzahal is an army. Although in Israel Tzahal is an integral part of our life, and basically is our life for three years, the behavior of the soldiers must represent the values of the army. Being the national matchmaker is probably not included in these values.

But do all the teenage soldiers actually overcome their hormones? Of course not. When I asked some friends of mine who finished serving a few years ago, or still serve in the army now, I got the very same answer from all of them: that these rules are mainly kept in the basic training and in specific courses in Tzahal where the discipline is very strict. In most of Tzahal, however, the rules are hardly enforced, if at all.

But if someone is caught breaking the rules, he or she will be punished. What kind of punishments, you ask? Well it starts from staying in the army on Saturdays and watching all your friends go back home, working extra hours in the kitchen, or even being sent to the military jail.

When I asked my friends Dafna and Yonatan who met each other in the army if these rules affected their relationship, they were surprised by the question. They said that these rules weren't felt at all in the place where they served, and besides, even when living according to these rules, relationships are possible: during the holidays from the army, on weekends or even by daily phone calls. But Dafna and Yonatan are not the only couple that has successfully survived the army–they are one of thousands of other Israeli couples with the exact same story.

It seems that love is the strongest thing after all–even stronger than one of the most powerful armies in the world.

Baruch Weizman is 17 years old and lives in Haifa, Israel. His best friend is also his cousin. They are in the same class and both have the same first and last names. How do their friends distinguish between the Baruchs? They don't…