Suchergebnisse

Soldiering, which for almost two millennia was almost entirely foreign to Jewish thought and practice, has by virtue of universal conscription become a rite of passage to citizenship in the Jewish state. For practicing orthodox Jews in Israel that change generates dilemmas that are intellectual as well as behavioural, and has necessitated both doctrinal and institutional adaptations. At the same time, the responses thus evoked are forcing Israel's decision-makers to reconsider the traditional role of the Israel Defence Force (IDF) as their country's most evocative symbol of national unity.

This edited book constitutes the first detailed attempt at a comparative international analysis of the transformations that are currently affecting the composition of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and their place in Israeli society. Focusing primarily on deviations from the traditional norm of universal military service, the book compares the emergence of a new type of ""citizen army"" in Israel with the formats that have in recent decades become evident in other western democracies. In addition, these essays correct the conventional tendency to concentrate almost exclusivel.

A much-needed examination of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), one of the world's most complex military forces. Stuart Cohen analyzes the strategic, societal and organizational aspects of the IDF, identifying the key changes occurring in Israel's military framework, and exploring their potential implications

These papers are an edited selection from the BESA conference of 1998. They present an overview of transformations in societal-military relations in the western world, and the specific manifestations in Israel.