Israel’s National Security Doctrine under Strain: The Crisis of The Reserve Army (original) (raw)

A Warning Light for Civil-Military Relations in Israel

INSS Insight, 2022

The recent friction between Givati Brigade soldiers and leftist activists in Hebron is the tip of the iceberg of extensive and significant phenomena related to the operational conduct of soldiers toward civilians, the responsibility of commanders, and the job of military policing in the Palestinian territories. The incidents also relate to the demographic structure of the units in the zones ridden with ongoing hostilities. Furthermore, regarding the use of force, the friction and the response to it bespeak a conceptual and normative gap between the fighting ranks and a large portion of the public that identifies with it, on the one hand, and the senior command ranks of the IDF, on the other hand. All of these have far-reaching and potentially dangerous consequences for civil-military relations, including between the political and the military echelons in Israel.

An Intellectual Journey through the Civil-Military Relationship in Israel

Due to this centrality, over the years the military has become the most influential social force in Israel, shaping society and politics. The military has consistently maintained its position at the head of the list of institutions valued by the Israeli public, and its reliability is highly esteemed. As a result, the military has become the ultimate font of knowledge, an epistemic authority. In my estimation, in the eyes of both the Israeli public and the political echelons, this authority is virtually unchallenged with regard to the definition of security threats. Reading these four books provides a comprehensive, stimulating, and often disconcerting intellectual journey through the field of civil-military relations in Israel. But even more than that, it provides a journey deep into the soul of Israeli society, revealing the numerous complex and difficult challenges with which the State of Israel has been contending since its establishment.

The Formative Socio-Political Crisis in Israel: Implications for National Security edited by

Strategic Assessment, 2023

Six months after the outbreak of the severe socio-political crisis in Israel, a group of experts and researchers from a variety of fields met at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) to discuss the root causes of the crisis, its characteristics, and likely ramifications from a forward-looking, system-wide perspective, with special emphasis on ramifications for national security. Naturally, the questions addressed have no absolute or unequivocal answers, and analysis of the crisis draws from the various interpretations of the respective observers. One important element regarding the roots of the crisis is the very different-and at times polarized-way in which reality is perceived, which necessarily dictates profound disagreements over the significance of what unfolds. This article seeks to paint a picture that reflects both differences of opinion and points of agreement vis-à-vis the means and conditions that might allow Israel to extricate itself, at some point, from the current severe crisis and return to normal functioning. A key springboard here is broad discussion, which may enable identification of common denominators that still exist among the Israeli public and within the country's political and social sectors.

Containment over Decision: Internalizing the Limits of Political Militarization in Israel

Strategic Assessment, 2020

Security threats play an essential and influential role in Israeli discourse, and some claim that this strengthens the militaristic approach of Israeli society and its political and military echelons. In practice, however, Israel has demonstrated military restraint over the last decade. This ostensible contradiction is the focus of this article, which examines political, military, and civilian realms, as well as the political civil control over the IDF. Israeli society can certainly be defined as culturally militaristic, with military symbols embedded in ceremonies, language, and icons. Yet when it comes to political militarism vis-à-vis supporting, prioritizing, and legitimizing the use of military force in order to resolve political problems, the political echelon is cautious, accountable, and responsible; the military echelon serves as a restraining actor; and the Israeli public is sober and realistic as to the possibility of resolving political problems by using military force. Therefore, that political militarism is a pervasive policy or strategy in Israel today is at the very least questionable.

Israel’s defence ethos: military service as a turning point

Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny, 2020

Jewish culture deals a lot with survival stories – most of them became myths, especially since the establishment of the state of Israel. The Jewish ‘survival ethos’ is assimilated in Israel mostly by customs, traditions, and education. Above all, it has been claimed that military service in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is the most significant institution that empowers the survival ethos. As a result, it is assumed that those who serve in the IDF are characterized by hatred towards Arabs, and by being extreme nationalists. This claim is examined in the current article, which analyses the level of the sense of security threat among Israelis during the last decade, draws on data on military service and levels of trust in Israeli government institutions, and reveals an essential finding: Israeli’s survival ethos is being eroded among IDF soldiers. This finding, followed by the fact that the leaders of the liberal party in the Israeli parliament are former military generals, indicates...

Israel's Societal Security Dilemma and the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process

This article applies the concept of the societal security dilemma to ethnic relations in Israel. I argue that Jews and Arabs in Israel are locked in a regular societal security dilemma in which their identity security requirements are incompatible and that the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority has only served to exacerbate that incompatibility. The article highlights the process of securitization of identities, which is generally missing from the discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ethnic relations in Israel and suggests that the inclusion of the Palestinian minority in the peace process may mitigate ethnic tensions in Israel. Link to full article available below.