Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defence Forces (Hebrew: Tsva Haganah Le-Israel, often abbreviated Tsahal) is the name of Israel's armed forces (army, air force and navy). It was formed following the founding of Israel in 1948 to "defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Israel" and "to protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life.
Current Status
The IDFs fall under the command of a single general staff.
Conscription is universal for Jewish men and women over the age of 18, although exemptions may be made on religious grounds. The fact that an increasing number of people in the ultra orthodox community are exempt, has been a source of tension in Israeli society. Druze, members of a small Islamic sect living in Israel's mountains, also serve in the IDF. In recent years, some Druze officers have reached positions in the IDF as high as Major General. Israeli Arabs, with few exceptions, are not obliged to serve, though they may volunteer.
Men serve three years in the IDF, as do the women on combat positions, but women on non-combat positions serve two. In addition, men complete up to one month annually of reservist service, up to the age of 43-45. No direct social benefits are tied to completion of military service, but doing it is required for attaining a security clearance and serving in some types of government positions (in most cases, security-related); Israeli Arabs claim, however, that this puts them at a disadvantage.
During 1950-66, Israel spent an average of 9% of GDP on defense. Real defense expenditures increased dramatically after both the 1967 and 1973 wars. In 1996, the military budget reached 10.6% of GDP and represented about 21.5% of the total 1996 budget.
In 1983, the United States and Israel established the Joint Political Military Group, which meets twice a year. Both the U.S. and Israel participate in joint military planning and combined exercises, and have collaborated on military research and weapons development.
Military branches:
- IDF
- Ground
- Air
- Navy
- Pioneer Fighting Youth (Nahal)
- Frontier Guard
- Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
- Military expenditures - dollar figure: $8.7 billion (FY99)
- Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 9.4% (FY99)
| Military manpower - Category | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|
| Availability (age 15-49) | 1,499,186 | 1,462,063 |
| Fit for military service (age 15-49) | 1,226,903 | 1,192,319 |
| Reaching military age (18) annually | 50,348 | 47,996 |
Recent policies
The IDF uses sophisticated technology, and due to their long experience fighting Palestinian guerrillas, have developed what many consider to be the most effective methods of crowd control and use of non-lethal force, in particular in scenarios when the largely unarmed crowds are used as a cover for gunmen. Others, however, claim the IDF's methods to be not sufficiently effective, as there were numerous cases in which unarmed civilians had died during clashes.
Similar to the United States in its recent War on Terrorism, Israel targets and detains individuals to avert future terrorist acts. Unlike the United States and most other developed nations, Israel also officially uses targeted assassinations as a means of defence. Some claim that many of these other nations in effect also target individuals by directing what they deem to be otherwise valid military action in areas where they also believe certain individuals are; others argue there is a difference.
The most recent development of the Israeli tactic is announced assassinations. Here a target, usually a guerrilla leader or powerful Palestinian threat to Israel is announced to be a target. If he is not arrested by Palestinian Authority forces (which seldom happens) or by Israel's own forces, he can be killed by various methods, including sniper fire, helicopter-launched rockets or explosive devices. By using this method, Israel hopes to minimize civillian casualties while maximizing the effect on Palestinian terrorism. The method remains highly controversial however, inside as well as outside Israel, also because of the risk of hurting non-combatant civilians in the process. Many reject its legitimacy outright, while supporters say there is no viable alternative. It is seen and accepted by the majority of Israeli public only as a measure of last resort, facing the Palestinian Authority's complicity by non-prevention.
See also: Arab-Israeli conflict, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Terrorism against Israel, Terrorism against Arabs, USS Liberty
Further reference
- IDF's home page
- The Sword and the Olive, Martin Van Creveld, ISBN 1-891620-05-3. A thorough and critical history of the IDF from the early defence leagues, and up to the late 1990s.
There's much more than that to be written, organizational structure, history etc. Add at will