The following version of this story was used to create this study guide: Keret, Etgar. “Not Human Beings.” The Girl on the Fridge. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008, p. 75 – 81.

The story begins with two Israeli soldiers, Stein and Davidoff, playing backgammon. Davidoff warned Stein about the border control regiment of the army. Davidoff knew that either he or Stein would be chosen to work with that regiment. Eventually, Stein discovered that he was the one set to join the regiment.

When he joined, he met the crew, who seemed volatile based on their vigorous arguments concerning who stole whose knife. After the argument, the regiment regrouped to go on patrol. The group argued while driving the jeep. When one of the soldiers realized there was no chewing gum left, he swore to commit violence against the next Arab he saw. The second patrol jeep then veered off the road and hit an elderly Arab man. Stein was angry and accusatory. Despite this, the other soldiers beat the Arab man.

They continued to ignore Stein’s protests, and the commander ordered two of the soldiers to capture an Arab man who was hiding in a building nearby. When the soldiers brought the Arab to the commander, the soldiers made Stein watch as they cut the Arab man open. When they did this, the Arab man appeared to deflate with miscellaneous objects shooting out of him, such as candy and tokens. They folded the Arab’s skin and returned to the jeep.

That night, while everyone was asleep, Stein stole a knife from another soldier. The knife had a broken compass attached to it, and Stein began walking in the direction that the compass needle was pointing.