A former British ambassador urged my friends and I not to join the British Army because it's an apartheid army.

One of my friends is British/Israeli and he is considering joining the British Army. We called the inquiry line and the person at the other end was very helpful for the first minute, talking about the different phases of training and the initial 28 weeks of bootcamp.<br><br>The person at the other end then asked me for his number so that a former British ambassador could call him back and talk about the opportunities available to him in the Army.<br><br>I didn't really understand what she meant by "former ambassador" and I thought this was a bit strange but I assumed that ambassadors must be really engaged in their work and still give advice after they've retired.<br><br>The former ambassador called me back and I explained that I was just inquiring because my friend was thinking about joining the British Army. He seemed pretty engaged at first, asking about how long my friend had lived in the UK for and which A Levels he was studying.<br><br>As soon as I told him that my friend had dual British/Israeli citizenship, the former ambassador urged my friend not to join the Army. He said that if my friend was Jewish then it would be a terrible career path for him to join the Army. He said that at no point during his entire service would he ever be accepted by his peers, and that it was basically an apartheid institution.<br><br>I was very shocked by this and I asked if this was really true. He urged my friend not to join the British Army because it was an "apartheid institution" and he wouldn't be accepted as a peer for being Jewish. Is this really true? I'm British/Israeli and I have never experienced any prejudice for it and I know many people who have served in the Army without any issues.<br><br>I just can't believe this and I'd love to hear from anyone who has served in the Army if this is the case.