A top captain in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) spoke last night about his experiences and the morals and ethics in the Israeli army.

Amnon, whose full name was not revealed for security reasons, talked to about 40 people in the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center about military life in Israel as a fighter pilot.

Born in 1980 in Beit Oved, Israel, Amnon said he entered the IAF flight academy in 1999 after graduating high school. The academy gets 10,000 applicants yearly, 300 of which are accepted. Only 50 finish the program, and only 15 to 20 go on to become actual fighter pilots, he said.

"It's our job as the IAF to keep the airspace over Israel clean all the time," Amnon said.

He added that some of the biggest problems did stem from inside Israel, where poor rural areas often conflict with the more mainstream cities.

Amnon then discussed Atidim, a program he's involved in that attempts to educate talented kids from the rural areas.

"The most important thing we try to give these kids is the self-esteem they're lacking," he said. "I feel this is very important for Israel's future."

As he was describing the activities of the Israeli army, such as humanitarian aid, Amnon emphasized the defensive nature of the military.

"If a situation arises, the IAF is ready," he said. "We see ourselves as a defense force not just for Israel, but for Jewish people worldwide."

He also described the careful attention of the pilots in making sure they don't harm innocent civilians on the opposing side.

Amnon was also asked about the first female pilot let into the Israeli military in 2001.

"She flies better than most of the guys. Any woman who wants to go into the flight academy is welcomed," he said.

Samantha Schonfeld (sophomore-crime, law and justice), who went to Israel last December, said the presentation was very informative.

"It's nice to hear from a soldier and hear his take on Israel," Schonfeld said.

However, the pilot's speech has caused controversy. When an e-mail message promoting Amnon's speech was sent out through a comparative literature mailing list, professor Djelal Kadir responded by writing that there was "something obscene about an operative of a ruthless war machine speaking about ethics and morals in the Israeli army."

Kadir finished the e-mail message by writing that the promotional e-mail message was "offensive and degrading to the principles that we teach our students to live by."

Tuvia Abramson, a former comparative literature teacher and director of Penn State Hillel, which organized Amnon's visit, received the e-mail message and called it "anti-Semitic."

"What justification does he have to send these things?" Abramson said. "The damage is not forgiven until he apologizes for what he's done."

Kadir, in a phone interview, defended his comments by saying that he was only "against the idea" of a member of the military speaking and that it was meant to be an internal message.

"I don't think internal communication should be discussed in public," Kadir said. "They should talk to me instead of the press."

Abramson added that several faculty members were angered by Kadir's e-mail message and that he and Hillel would take action.

Annie Eiskowitz, vice president of Hillel, said she was impressed with the event's turnout.

"I'm glad students took an interest in Israel politics and the morals and ethics that come from defending a nation such as Israel," Eiskowitz said.

Amnon ended his presentation by speaking about daily life in Israel.

"It's not what's shown on CNN," he said. "You can see it's like any other place."