Chapter 8 delves into the legal construction of Israeli settlers’ childhood, revisiting in the process key themes and insights from the previous chapters. The greater rights and preferential treatment enjoyed by settlers aged under 18, compared with those of same-age Palestinians, are explored in this chapter, with a focus on two test cases: stone throwing by settler youth, and the question of whether to detain settlers aged under 18 separately from their elders. In the process, the chapter sheds light on the lax law enforcement on settler youth; on their lenient sentencing; on soldiers’ abuse of Palestinian victims of settler violence; on the courts’ consideration of settlers’ military service as a mitigating factor; on convictions only where Palestinian complaints are corroborated by Israeli witnesses; and on the rejection of Palestinians’ selective enforcement claims. Next, the chapter interrogates what critics have described as Israel’s childish response to the refusal of detained settler girls to disclose their ages. This dynamic offers broader lessons about age, voice, and infantilization. Finally, the chapter casts light on two central modes of representation in parliamentary debates on the impact of the Gaza pullout on young Jewish evacuees: a mental health language of trauma and loss, and visual imagery.

At the heart of Chapter 7 are two characteristics of the dominant Israeli legal and human rights discourse. The first is its portrayal of soldiers as children, particularly in court cases concerning either soldiers’ violence against Palestinians or military hazing. The analysis pays special attention to courts’ conjuring up of two conflicting childhoods: that of the violent soldier, who is not formally a child yet tends to be perceived as such, and that of the young Palestinian, whom the statutory law defines as a “minor.” The second discursive characteristic is the treatment of under-18s in military terms. Regarding young Israelis in conflict with the law, the chapter analyzes their depiction as soldiers in the making, as well as the judiciary’s consideration of their future military service as a mitigating factor. Regarding young Palestinians, the chapter discusses their use as human shields, as well as the double standard in Israeli contentions that they are trained for combat from an early age. Across these contexts, the chapter criticizes invocations of two problematic international legal principles: first, the categorization of young people as protected civilians, and, second, the ban on recruiting underage soldiers.

This chapter explores ageism and prejudice against age as revealed in our language. We look at childism/adultism, middle age, and intergenerational battles of Boomers vs. Millennials. We discuss the way we talk about growing older. We investigate stereotypes and negative attitudes toward age and ageing, ageism in the workplace, and consider ageism as an intersectional form of discrimination that will ultimately affect us all.