The Israel Defense Forces (IDF): From a "People's Army" to a "Professional Military"-Causes and Implications

Cohen, Stuart A.

doi:10.1177/0095327x9502100205

Cited by 71 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Soldiers are issued guns only for their period of service, and most live on base during this time. Soldiers used to carry guns to civilian settings when off duty to prevent weapons theft and kidnapping 21,46,47 , but in 2006 the IDF decreased soldiers’ access to firearms on weekends as a successful suicide prevention measure 43 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gun utopias? Firearm access and ownership in Israel and Switzerland

Rosenbaum

2011

J Public Health Pol

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The 2011 attempted assassination of a US representative renewed the national gun control debate. Gun advocates claim that mass-casualty events are mitigated and deterred with three policies: (1) permissive gun laws, (2) widespread gun ownership, (3) encouragement of armed civilians who can intercept shooters, and cite Switzerland and Israel as exemplars. We evaluate these claims with analysis of International Crime Victimization Survey (ICVS) data and translation of laws and original source material. Swiss and Israeli laws limit firearm ownership and require permit renewal 14 times annually. ICVS analysis finds that the US has more firearms per capita and per household than either country. Switzerland and Israel curtail off-duty soldiers firearm access to prevent firearm deaths. Suicide among soldiers decreased by 40% after the Israeli armys 2006 reforms. Compared with the US, Switzerland and Israel have lower gun ownership and stricter gun laws, and their policies discourage personal gun ownership.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gun utopias? Firearm access and ownership in Israel and Switzerland

Rosenbaum

2011

J Public Health Pol

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“…Simultaneously, discussions on the social changes that were taking place in Israeli society, especially the erosion of the collectivist ethos and the expansion of individualism, inundated both the public and academic discourses (Almog 1997;Kimmerling 2001;Roninger 1999;Smooha 1993). These discussions were perceived as calling into question Israeli society's willingness to mobilize and sacrifice for the country (Ben-Eliezer 2001;Cohen 1995;Gazit 1996;Levi 1996), which resulted in identifying the individual's motivation as the defining factor of the military's main problem concerning reserve duty.…”

Section: The Second Phasementioning

confidence: 99%

Looking Out from the Tent: Internal Social Research at the IDF

Sher¹,

Ben-Eliyahu²

2011

Israel Studies Review

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In this article we investigate the unique position of intramilitary social research units in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). These units, associated with the IDF's Behavioral Sciences Department, have conducted social research on a vast range of topics for more than five decades. By analyzing developments in the studies on reserve service over the years, we have identified three phases of research. Each phase reflects changes in research questions, theoretical concepts, and definitions of issues to be explored. According to our analysis, researches conducted during the first two phases have similar characteristics and derive from the same theoretical discipline and research paradigm. It is mainly during the third phase that theoretical and paradigmatic changes are evident. The researches carried out in this most recent phase are rooted in critical epistemology, which enables us to discuss the implications of critical intra-social research within the military and in comparison to the academic world.

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“…However, these studies focus almost exclusively on the experiences and identities of combat soldiers and, therefore, offer a homogeneous portrayal of the military experience of soldiers. Given that combat soldiers constitute only 20 percent of the army's male soldiers (Cohen 1997), this focus is misleading and creates a lacuna in our knowledge of the army in general and of noncombat soldiers in particular. In addition, they do not examine the connection of the subjective experience of soldiers to the military's stratified structure or to the structure of citizenship in Israel. In my research, I aim to bridge the conceptual gap between these two types of research through an analysis of identity constructions of soldiers who occupy diverse military roles within the stratified military structure and through an analysis of the link between these identities and the differential structure of Israeli citizenship.…”

Section: Hegemonic Masculinity Military Service and Citizenshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, shaped the military as a major instrument of the modern Jewish nation-building project (Cohen 1995), which serves as a mechanism for cohesion, social integration, and solidarity. The popular conception in Israel is that, through universal induction of both soldiers and officers (in contrast to most other armies), the army gives an equal opportunity to every soldier, regardless of his or her socio-economic and ethnic background.…”

Section: Ethno-class Stratification In the Israeli Militarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women comprise only 32 percent of the regular army; they serve a shorter term than men;' and for the most part they are excluded from combat roles. These structural and organizational differences limit the range of roles to which women might be posted and constitute a definite barrier to women's advancement in the military (Cohen 1997). Indeed, the majority of women soldiers serve in traditional "feminine" jobs, at least 30 percent of which are secretarial and administrative.…”

Section: Women Soldiers In "Masculine" Rolesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Constructing Identities at the Margins: Masculinities and Citizenship in the Israeli Army

Sasson‐Levy

2002

The Sociological Quarterly

106

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This article examincs thc construction of multiple gendered and national identities in the Israeli army. In Israel. hegemonic masculinity is identified with the masculinity of the Jewish combat soldier and is perceived as the emblem of good citizenship. This identity. I argue, assumes a central role in shaping a hierarchal order of gendered and civic identities that reflects and reproduces social stratification and reconstructs differential modes of participation in, and belonging to; the Israeli state.In-depth intervicws with two marginalized groups in the Israeli army-women in "masculine" roles and male soldiers in blue-collar jobs-suggest two discernible practices of identity. While women in "masculine" roles structure their gender and national identities according to the masculinity of the combat soldier, the identity practices of male soldiers in blue-collar jobs challenge this hegemonic masculinity and its close link with citizenship in Israel. However, while both identity practices are empowering for the groups in question. neither undermines the hegemonic order, for the military's practice of "limited inclusion" prohibits the development of a collective consciousness that would challenge the differentiated structure of citizenship.This article examines the construction of gendercd identities within the Israeli army and their relation to differential concepts of citizenship. In Israel, hegemonic masculinity is identified with the masculinity of the Jewish combat solider and is perceived as the emblem of good citizenship (Lomsky-Feder and Ben-Ari 1999). This identity, I argue, assumes a central role in shaping a hierarchal order of gendered and civic identities that reflects and reproduces social stratification and reconstructs differential modes of participation in, and belonging to, the Israeli state. I will present this argument through an empirical analysis of two marginalized groups within the Israeli army: male soldiers in blue-collar jobs, who are mostly of lower-class Mizrachil origin, and women soldiers in "masculine" roles, who are mostly of middleclass Ashkenazi2 (European) origin. Both groups, who are marginalized for different "reasons" (one for ethno-class position and the other for gender), are marginalized through the military division ol labor. The comparison between the groups reveals two discernible practices of identity, though both reflect ambivalent positions and attitudes toward the military-state system. Women in "masculine" roles accept the model of the Direct all correspondence to

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF): From a "People's Army" to a "Professional Military"-Causes and Implications

Cited by 71 publications

References 0 publications

Gun utopias? Firearm access and ownership in Israel and Switzerland

Gun utopias? Firearm access and ownership in Israel and Switzerland

Looking Out from the Tent: Internal Social Research at the IDF

Constructing Identities at the Margins: Masculinities and Citizenship in the Israeli Army

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