The Israeli Defense Forces

In this blogpost, I will be analyzing the army of the State of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces. Specifically, I will examine and touch upon the daily lives of the soldiers within their service, moral dilemmas the soldiers must face, and the effect their actions have on the image of the IDF on the international stage. I hope to achieve this by using sources that are most familiar with this topic, specifically Donna Rosenthal’s “The Israelis,” articles by reputable Israeli news sources such as Haaretz, as well as other sources. I hope to use these sources to provide a deeper insight on one of the worlds most advanced, powerful, and complicated armed forces.

The Middle East has been a very volatile region since the Crusades. There have been countless regime changes, tragedies, and hardships, along with many historical events and technological and educational contributions to the world. However, no time period in history has been more violent, unpredictable, and clouded than now, specifically the Middle East from the time of the creation of Israel in 1948. Since its establishment, the State of Israel has been involved in over 10 wars and conflicts, all of which are against neighboring countries. Of all the Middle East, the most turmoil and conflict surrounds the State of Israel. The importance of the army cannot be stated enough. According to Business Insider, Israel has the most powerful military in the Middle East. On the world stage, they are neck in neck with many of the world’s largest countries, ranking in at number 11. For a country that is 445 times smaller (in square mileage) than the United States, there is no denying how impressive Israel’s military strength is. But where does this strength come from? Is it as simple as saying that Israel has the two strongest allies in the world in Great Britain and the United States? Maybe, we can mention, as mentioned in the same Business Insider article, Israel’s 15 billion USD budget on Defense Spending. Many like to believe that these are the reasons, however, there are also many who believe that Israel’s military success with the IDF comes from day to day life, the military’s tactics, and their ability to be affective on the battlefield while following rules of humanity.

Israel is one of the few countries in the world which require all citizens to participate in the military at the age of 18. For men, this mandatory service lasts for 3 years, and for women, the service lasts 2. Because of this mandatory service, one can assume that there would be many parents who are unhappy with this rule, and fear to lose contact with their children for extended periods of time. However, due to Israel’s size, Israeli soldiers serving in the IDF are welcome to go home from the base at the end of the night. Contrary to other countries such as the United States, France and Great Britain, Israeli soldiers are primarily stationed within their own borders, which makes it easier for soldiers to keep strong ties with their family members. I cannot imagine any sources on the matter of the IDF more reliable and detailed than that of Donna Rosenthal’s work, “The Israelis.” Rosenthal documents the lives of soldiers and citizens living in Israel. Rosenthal interviewed Liron Heffetz, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces. Liron discusses what it is like to be in the army, specifically about weekend leave, and tells Rosenthal, “My parents treat me like a king. Mom makes my favorite foods. I sleep past noon and spend a lot of time playing piano and reading.” (Rosenthal, 50) Rosenthal also mentions that most commutes home are only a couple of hours, which makes it easy for soldiers to visit their families. Also, the family unit plays a large role on the soldiers’ attitudes towards their service. While some may take it as a burden and do not find anything positive in their service, others find honor and pride. For example, Liron takes great pride in his grandfather. His grandfather was one of the many who was instrumental in the founding of the Israeli Air Force, along with Israel’s commercial passenger airlines, El Al. Liron explains his grandfather’s influence and the amount of respect he has for him, and recounts to when he was drafted and decided to volunteer for the combat unit, saying “When I volunteered for a combat unit, he was proud. I know he’s afraid for me, so I don’t tell him or my parents everything.” (Rosenthal, 50) Military service, of course, is very dangerous, and can leave many families worried. When your home is also the battlefront, every little second can be the difference between life and death. Which is why army members must be vigilant and act quickly and decisively.

Rosenthal documents stories from Sergeant Eli Rosenfeld, and his experience serving in a combat unit in the West Bank. Because of such a high frequency in attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, the line between ordinary Palestinian and terrorist often gets blurred, and for many soldiers, it is hard to differentiate. Often times, if differentiation takes too long, or is acted upon too quickly, an innocent life can be taken from either side. Sergeant Rosenfeld further explains to Rosenthal the difficulties the soldiers face in the matter. He compares the West Bank with the Lebanese border, and he believes it is far more tedious and challenging to be a soldier in the West Bank than it is the Lebanon border. His reasoning is, “because it’s urban fighting and we see faces up close. Everywhere we see Palestinians. They hate us, but most are innocent. The terrorists hide among hundreds of thousands of civilians who look just like them.” (Rosenthal 65) Sergeant Rosenfeld describes a moral dilemma that soldiers often face, saying, “‘is that figure behind that boulder a man or a woman? It’s a boy. He looks like an innocent sixteen-year-old. But a sixteen-year-old just blew up a candy store. He looks unarmed. But wait! Is something bulky under his sweater?’” (Rosenthal 65) One wrong moment of judgment can not only take a mental and emotional toll on the soldier, but can spell doom for the IDF as a whole in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Hebron Shooting, March 2016

In March 2016, an incident happened in Hebron that spelled doom for the IDF. After thwarting two attackers who stabbed an Israeli officer, an Israeli soldier shot and killed an attacker who was on the ground, detained, and not moving. Not only did this act not bode well with the international community, but it was act of insubordination against the IDF and its moral and ethical code, and it did not bode well with the IDF’s leaders and officials. New York Times writer Isabel Kershner wrote an article on the incident in late March. She quoted Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesman, who said, “The IDF views this incident as a grave breach of IDF values, conduct, and standard of military operations.” Another condemnation came from within Israel’s government, this time from Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who addressed the public in a statement via video. In this video, he said that what the soldier did “completely contradicts IDF values and its battle ethics; even in a moment of great anger we must not permit such unbridled and uncontrolled behavior.” The IDF has done everything they can in assuring the Israeli people and the international community that this single act of insubordination does not reflect the IDF or its standard operating procedures.

An article written by Gili Cohen for Haaretz touched on the aftermath of the Hebron shooting. Cohen reports that the Israeli soldier who shot and killed the Palestinian man in Hebron, Elor Azaria, is set to begin his trial and determine his fate and guilt involving the Hebron shooting. Initially, the choices were for Azaria to be charged with murder or manslaughter. As the case went on, opposition began to realize that to make a murder case, they would have had to show criminal intent, and would lose the case all together. As a result, the prosecution has charged Azaria with Manslaughter. The indictment presented to Azaria cited their reasoning for prosecution, saying when Azaria shot the unarmed man he was in “violation of the rules of engagement, and without operational justification, while [Abdel Fattah] al-Sharif lay wounded on the ground...and did not pose immediate and real threat to the defendant, civilians, or soldiers in the area.” However, Azaria and his defense believes that shooting al-Sharif was justified. Azaria told the Military Police, “I used reasonable force with one shot. I shot one bullet to neutralize the threat I felt.” He continues on and says “if he’d had an explosive belt, I wouldn’t be in court, but in a cemetery. I wouldn’t have shot him if I hadn’t felt a tangible threat.” Support for both the prosecution and for Azaria came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu defends the soldier, and claims that he believes the soldiers are fighting off the very thing they are being accused of: murderers. He also expressed his understanding, saying that as a parent of a soldier, he understands where soldier’s parents are coming from in supporting Azaria. He has done his best to reassure the public that the military tribunal in which Azaria’s fate will be decided will be merciful and have in mind all events and facts of the incident.

Israeli citizens calling for government support of the IDF Soldiers

The fallout, including Netanyahu’s message, has caused great confusion in Israel. Amos Harel wrote an analytical article for Haaretz in which he analyzed the aftermath of the Hebron shooting, and the effect it had on Israeli public opinion of the situation. Throughout the article, Harel shows the amount of confusion that surrounds the public eye on the Hebron shooting case, as the public has gotten mixed signals from the government, whether it’s from Prime Minister Netanyahu or from IDF leaders. It is hard to tell whether or not Harel is accurate in his writing, as he speculates the affect that this case is having on the Israeli political stage, and in the public eye. Harel claims that it is difficult for soldiers to leave their personal political ideals at home while they are participating in their service. Harel thinks this because many times the IDF’s conduct and values tend to contradict many of the soldiers personal beliefs. The biggest issue, Harel writes, is containing the issue so that it does not affect the IDF in the eyes of the public. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot has done all he can to appease the public, uphold the law, and protect his soldiers at the same time. Eisenkot’s biggest challenge, Harel says, is keeping the image of the IDF in the public eye intact. He writes, “But the incident in Hebron has sharpened the dispute over basic values, and that dispute must be conducted without undermining public faith in the IDF – something Eisenkot views as critical to the army’s functioning.”

Elor Azaria, who is to be tried for Manslaughter

The people of Israel, along with everybody outside of Israel who is following this story, is awaiting a trial and verdict on the fate of Azari. Many are curious to see how the IDF will handle this, and what consequences, if any, their decision may have.