[PDF] The Israel Defense Forces eBook

Author : Haim Bresheeth-Zabner
Publisher : Verso Books
Page : 449 pages
File Size : 37,68 MB
Release : 2020-08-25
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1788737849

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A history of the IDF that argues that Israel is a nation formed by its army. The Israeli army, officially named the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), was established in 1948 by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, who believed that 'the whole nation is the army'. In his mind, the IDF was to be an army like no other. It was the instrument that might transform a diverse population into a new people. Since the foundation of Israel, therefore, the IDF has been the largest, richest and most influential institution in Israel's Jewish society and is the nursery of its social, economic and political ruling class. In this fascinating history, Bresheeth charts the evolution of the IDF from the Nakba to the continued assaults upon Gaza, and shows that the state of Israel has been formed out of its wars. He also gives an account of his own experiences as a young conscript during the 1967 war. He argues that the army is embedded in all aspects of daily life and identity. And that we should not merely see it as a fighting force enjoying an international reputation, but as the central ideological, political and financial institution of Israeli society. As a consequence, we have to reconsider our assumptions on what any kind of peace might look like.

Author : Louis Williams
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 394 pages
File Size : 23,95 MB
Release : 2000-09-29
Category : Israel
ISBN : 0595143539

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Insiders view of the Army of Israel, its structure, its men and women and its most memorable actions.

Author : Meir Finkel
Publisher : Hoover Press
Page : 378 pages
File Size : 11,49 MB
Release : 2021-10-01
Category : History
ISBN : 0817924760

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The commander, or chief of staff, of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is a prominent public figure in Israel. His decisions, advice, and persona are held in high regard by Israel's public and leadership, and have indirect impacts on social, economic, and foreign affairs. But until now, an in-depth study on the role and performance of the IDF's chiefs of staff has been sorely absent. In this study, Meir Finkel offers a robust and original comparative perspective on the IDF chiefs of staff throughout modern Israel's history, examining their conduct in six key areas: identifying change in the strategic environment, developing familiarity with all military domains, managing crises with wartime generals, rehabilitating the army after a botched war, leading a transformation in force design, and building relationships with the political echelon. The challenging and critical role of the chief of staff demands profound knowledge and authority in a vast and diverse range of fields. By providing a perspective that the IDF's known history has lacked until now, Finkel gives insights that may assist current and future high-rank leaders worldwide in carrying out their important work and offers lessons to students everywhere of strategy, military history, and military transformation.

Author : Barbara Sofer
Publisher : Kar-Ben Publishing ™
Page : 58 pages
File Size : 21,5 MB
Release : 2014-01-01
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 1512490679

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Meet four Israeli teens as they make their choices to join one of the many branches of the Israel Defense Forces, and learn about the various branches of the IDF. As we get to know the four teens and how they plan to fulfill their mandatory service, we learn how the IDF with its advanced technology, intelligence, and weapons systems, grew to be one of the most admired armies in the world.

Author : Elazar Stern
Publisher : Gefen Publishing House Ltd
Page : 381 pages
File Size : 47,35 MB
Release : 2012
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9652295760

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In all the command positions that he held, General Elazar Stern knew that the role of the Israel Defense Forces was not limited solely to achieving victory on the battlefield. Many of the tasks that he undertook in over three decades of service to his country required moral courage whether it was initiating conversion courses in the IDF, laying down a hard line against disobeying orders during the evacuation of Gush Katif, or taking a stand against draft dodgers and Stern was well aware that public courage has its price. In Struggling Over Israel's Soul, General Stern tells the story of his personal battles the battles for the character and future of the IDF as the army of the people and for the character and future of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. He candidly describes the challenges and difficulties of a being a religious soldier in a unit of non-religious soldiers, yet he openly opposes the continued service of religious soldiers in separate units. He explains why he was required to rewrite the IDF s ethical code and reveals his revolutionary plan to solve the problem of ultra-Orthodox army exemptions. This honest and frank insider s look at the Israel Defense Forces will inspire you and show you a glimpse of the true face of Israel and why Israel is worth fighting for.

Author : Haim Bresheeth-Zabner
Publisher : Verso Books
Page : 523 pages
File Size : 38,8 MB
Release : 2020-08-25
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1788737857

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The Israeli army, officially named the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), was established in 1948 by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, who believed that 'the whole nation is the army'. In his mind, the IDF was to be an army like no other. It was the instrument that might transform a diverse population into a new people. Since the foundation of Israel, therefore, the IDF has been the largest, richest and most influential institution in Israel's Jewish society and is the nursery of its social, economic and political ruling class. In this fascinating history, Bresheeth charts the evolution of the IDF from the Nakba to wars in Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and the continued assaults upon Gaza, and shows that the state of Israel has been formed out of its wars. He also gives an account of his own experiences as a young conscript during the 1967 war. He argues that the army is embedded in all aspects of daily life and identity. And that we should not merely see it as a fighting force enjoying an international reputation, but as the central ideological, political and financial institution of Israeli society. As a consequence, we have to reconsider our assumptions on what any kind of peace might look like.

Author : Edward N. Luttwak
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 35,57 MB
Release : 2023-10-10
Category : History
ISBN : 0674295137

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A world-leading military strategist and an IDF insider explain the improbable success of the Israeli armed forces. When the Israel Defense Forces was established in May 1948, it was small, poorly equipped, and already at war. Lacking sufficient weaponry or the domestic industrial base to produce it, the newborn military was forced to make do with whatever it could get its hands on. That spirit of improvisation carried the IDF to a decisive victory in the First Arab-Israeli War. Today the same spirit has made the IDF the most powerful military in the Middle East and among the most capable in the world. In The Art of Military Innovation, Edward N. Luttwak and Eitan Shamir trace the roots of this astounding success. What sets the IDF apart, they argue, is its singular organizational structure. From its inception, it has been the world’s only one-service military, encompassing air, naval, and land forces in a single institutional body. This unique structure, coupled with a young officer corps, allows for initiative from below. The result is a nimble organization inclined toward change rather than beholden to tradition. The IDF has fostered some of the most significant advances in military technology of the past seventy years, from the first wartime use of drones to the famed Iron Dome missile defense system, and now the first laser weapon, Iron Beam. Less-heralded innovations in training, logistics, and human resources have been equally important. Sharing rich insights and compelling stories, Luttwak and Shamir reveal just what makes the IDF so agile and effective.

Author : Stuart A. Cohen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 22,97 MB
Release : 2010-01-21
Category : History
ISBN : 113516956X

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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 exclusively on the influences stimulating military institutional change in the West, and thereby to overlook the equally important factors that retard its momentum. By contrast, this volume deliberately highlights the brakes as well as the accelerators in current processes, thereby presenting a far more faithful picture of their complexity. This book will be of much interest to students of Israeli politics, military studies, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general. Stuart Cohen is a senior research associate of the BESA (Begin-Sadat) Center for Strategic Studies and also teaches political studies at Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His most recent book is Israel and its Army: From Cohesion to Confusion (Routledge, 2008).

Author : Ze'ev Drory
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 427 pages
File Size : 37,96 MB
Release : 2004-12-17
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1135753989

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This book discusses the contribution of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) to the building of the social and educational foundations of the country, and its role in the area of immigrant absorption and settlement during the first years of the Israeli State. The author examines how under the guidance of David Ben-Gurion Israel was able to utilize the values of military organization to combat severe, economic, and social difficulties, and build a civil society to underpin the new state.