The People's Army

According to the book, The Israeli's, The IDF is truly the People's Army. With the exeption of a few ultra-Orhodox men, at the age of 18, everybody serves in the Army. Unlike most countries, this includes women. Former Chief of Staff Yigal Yadin once said, "every Israeli citizen is a soldier on 11 months annual leave" (The Israelis, 51). Israel has a standing Army of about 140,000 and a reserve Army of about 400,000. What is amazing about the people of Israel, is their willingness to fight Hamas. By this I mean that the amount of people that volunteer their services for Israel. Even people that finished their mandatory time in the Army still volunteer when an uprising occurs. Since the war against Hizballah, 70% of the female recruits requested combat units. The women feel that a desk job is not helping against terrorism. You have to respect that! I really like that (with the exception of the ultra-Orthodox), all Israeli citizens are willing to shed blood for their country.

From a young age, the range from "non-Orthodox to Orthodox, right-wing to left-wing, teach behaviors valued by the army: camaraderie, resourcefulness, and group cohesion" (The Israelis, 55). The notion of togetherness is a big deal in Israeli society. All the citizens are affected by the common struggle against Hamas, and in order to protect Israel, they must stick together. Jewish children learn early on that rememberance "is a key part of Israeli education" (The Israelis, 56), children also "learn the importance of selfishness and Jewish interconnectedness" (The Israelis, 56).

The people of Israel have a tight bond, they "refuse to let terrorists terrorize" (The Israelis, 13). As a result, the people of Israel know that if they do not stick together, the whole country of Israel will be lost. One of many instances of Israeli togetherness is, "in the People's Army, the return of soldiers bodies is sacrosanct. (As a result, Israel's enemies have exacted exorbitant prices in lopsided prisoner exchanges)" (The Israelis, 62).

The common bond of Israelis comes through Army service, daily threats, Religion, and their family-oriented society. It is not rare in Israel for two generations to be serving at the same time in the army either; the son in obligatory service and the father in reserves.

Although the IDF is "almost" representative of the Israeli people, within the IDF certain predjudices occur. Secular and non-secular groups within the IDF often conflict with one another. In one story from jpost.com, "the secular atmosphere in the army barracks...in the face of the Ahkenazi, secular elite that dominated the IDF's command that caused impressionable young religious zionist men to remove their kippot and hide that they came from Orthodox homes." According to the same article, "now the IDF has ceased to be the "People's Army" envisioned by the state's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion." From the outside looking in, the IDF represents the people of Israel in the common struggle, although other people suggest differently. Certain groups of people within the IDF suggest that certain "high risk" missions are left for certain religious groups, and purposely excluding others. If the IDF is truly the "People's Army," don't you think it is odd that using certain religious groups for higher risk tasks is almost a way of "ethnic cleansing" without killing them yourself. What does that say to the people associated with the particular group?

Other arguments to the "People's Army" is the Tal Law. The Tal Law exempts certain people from military service. Harsh responses within the IDF to the Tal Law came recently when the Israeli officials refused to renounce the law.