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$Pretitle{}
$Title{Israel
Chapter 5C.   Israel Defense Forces}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Richard F. Nyrop}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{idf
military
service
officers
air
career
defense
staff
training
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see
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}
$Date{1979}
$Log{}
Title:       Israel
Book:        Israel, A Country Study
Author:      Richard F. Nyrop
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1979

Chapter 5C.   Israel Defense Forces

Size, Equipment, and Organization

     Manpower in the IDF consists of career soldiers (sherut qevah) and those
fulfilling their compulsory service (sherut hovah), who together make up the
regular service (sherut sadir), and a large and growing pool of those serving
in the reserves (sherut miluim). During the mid-1970s the IDF underwent a
considerable expansion: the number of regular service personnel rose from
115,000 in 1973 to 164,000 in 1977, an increase of over 40 percent. The number
of regularly trained reserves rose during those years from 180,000 to some
240,000. An increase in equipment inventory was equally as evident. A growing
amount of IDF weapons were manufactured in Israel, although in 1977 the
majority were of United States origin. Great Britain was also a major
supplier, as France had been before 1967. West Germany and Switzerland were
minor suppliers. In addition, a significant amount of Soviet equipment had
been captured from Arab armies. Nearly all equipment obtained abroad was
modified in Israel to enhance its usefulness in meeting Israel's specific
defense needs. Military analysts generally agreed that by mid-1978 the IDF was
stronger, by all measures, than at any time in its thirty-year history.

     The IDF has no commander in chief designated as such. The Basic Law: The
Army, 1976, vests command in the government. In fact the minister of  defense
acts as the highest authority over the IDF and is its link, as head of the
Ministry of Defense, to civilian political authorities. The minister of
defense is a civilian (though usually retired military). The highest ranking
military officer, the only officer to hold the rank of lieutenant general (rav
aluf), is the chief of staff, who is chairman of the general staff and is
responsible for all IDF matters to the minister of defense. In general, the
ministry is in charge of administrative and technical matters while the
general staff is in charge of 'professional' matters, such as organization,
training, and the planning and execution of military operations. As the
supreme commander of the IDF, however, the minister of defense can intervene
in all IDF matters (see fig. 10).

     The general staff is organized along conventional lines. Its permanent
members are the heads of the five staff branches (operations, manpower,
quartermaster, planning, and intelligence), the commanders of the air force,
navy, and armor corps, and the three area commanders of the ground forces.
The head of the operations branch (or General Staff Branch as formally
designated) is considered the second in command within the general staff
after the chief of staff, though the special post of deputy chief of staff is
sometimes created. The general staff wields control over all branches of
the IDF.

     The navy and air force were not, nor had ever been, designated as
separate services. Officially known as the Sea Corps (Hel Yam) and the
Air Corps (Hel Avir), the navy and air force, however, enjoy a bit more
autonomy within the IDF structure than their official designation would
suggest. There is no single commander of the ground forces; rather there are
three area commanders with equal responsibilities in the north, central, and
south regions of the country. In addition, the general staff supervised
some twenty-four "functional commands," the most important of which  were
armor, paratroop, artillery, training, Nahal (see Glossary), and Gadna (see
Glossary).

     During 1977 newly appointed Minister of Defense Ezer Weizman expressed
his intention to restructure the long-standing IDF organization along more
conventional lines-establishing a separate ground army with its own single
commander and decentralizing the control that the chief of staff had over all
branches of the armed forces. As of mid-1978 no such reorganization had taken
place.

Ground Forces

     In 1977 the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the
strength of the ground forces at 138,000, including the 18,000 career soldiers
and 120,000 conscripts. An additional 240,000 men and women were regularly
trained reserves who could be mobilized within seventy-two hours. The Israeli
ground forces were highly mechanized, holding among their  equipment inventory
some 3,000 tanks and some 8,000 other armored vehicles in addition to a wide
range of guns, howitzers, mortars, antitank weapons, and antiaircraft systems
(see table 20, Appendix A).

     Each of the ground forces' three area commands is commanded by a major
general (aluf) who is assisted by a deputy and staff officers for manpower,
operations, training, and supply. Each area command has responsibility for
ground force bases and installations and area defense (the protection of
villages, especially those near the frontier) in addition to the combat units
located within its district. During combat, area commanders also coordinate
activities of naval and air force units operating on fronts within their
areas.

     Formally the organization of ground force units is standard: three
battalions to a brigade and three brigades to a division. In practice,
however, unit composition is extremely fluid; and it is common for subunits to
be transferred, particularly during combat situations when a particular
battalion or brigade may be needed at a front far from its regular divisional
station. Although permanent divisional formations do exist, the fluidity of
their composition has led most military analysts to consider the brigade the
basic combat unit of the IDF.

     In 1977 the ground forces consisted of some forty-three brigades (twenty
armored, nine mechanized, nine infantry, and five paratroop) of approximately
4,000 men each. Of these, eleven (five armored, four infantry, and two
paratroop) were usually kept near full strength, six (one armored, four
mechanized, and one paratroop) between half and full strength, and the
remaining twenty-six were kept at cadre strength until a mobilization of the
reserves. Each brigade was commanded by a colonel (aluf mishneh) who had a
small staff with officers in charge of operations, manpower, and logistics.
Each brigade was further divided into several battalions, companies, and
finally platoons, which is the smallest IDF combat unit.

Navy

     By far the smallest arm of the IDF, the navy contained about 5,000 men in
1977, 1,000 of whom were conscripts. An additional 1,000 were available as
reserves. Long neglected, the navy gained unprecedented acclaim after its
successful engagements with the Syrian and Egyptian navies during the 1973
war.

     The navy's fleet grew significantly during the 1970s; by 1977 it
contained some seventy-two combat vessels, including two submarines and
eighteen fast patrol boats equipped with Israeli-built Gabriel missiles (see
table 21, Appendix A). In building its fleet, the navy has shunned large
vessels, preferring small ships with high firepower, speed, and
maneuverability. The Reshef-class patrol boats, which comprise the heart of
the Israeli fleet, have a range of some 2,400 kilometers. The fleet is located
in two unconnected bodies of water: major naval ports are located at Haifa and
Ashdod on the Mediterranean Sea; minor facilities are at Eilat
and Sharm ash Shayhk on the Gulf of Aqaba.

     There is no marine corps or naval air arm, although the navy does have
access to three small jets for purposes of maritime reconnaissance. The navy's
elite unit consists of some 300 underwater commandos who have proven to be
highly successful in amphibious assault and sabotage operations.

Air Force

     In 1977 the air force consisted of some 21,000 men; of these, 19,000 were
career professionals, and 2,000 were conscripts assigned to air defense. An
additional 4,000 reserves were available for mobilization. The traditional
prestige of the air force was augmented significantly after its spectacular
success during the six-day war, and the subsequent decade saw an unprecedented
increase in the manpower and equipment available to the air force. The
increase in aircraft was such that several facilities had to be built in the
occupied Sinai Peninsula in order to base the new aircraft. By 1977 it had 549
combat aircraft, kept in a constant state of combat readiness, as well as a
large number of transports, trainers, and helicopters (see table 22, Appendix
A). In 1971 the air force assumed full responsibility for antiaircraft
defense.

     The air force commander, who is directly responsible to the chief of
staff, presides over a small staff, consisting of operations, training,
intelligence, quartermaster, and manpower branches, at Air Force Headquarters
in Tel Aviv. Command is passed through base commanders, who preside over a
wing of several squadrons, to squadron leaders. In 1977 the International
Institute of Strategic Studies reported there to be nineteen combat squadrons,
including twelve fighter-interceptor squadrons, six fighter squadrons, and one
reconnaissance squadron.

Nahal and Gadna

     The Pioneer Fighting Youth (Noar Halutzi Lohem-Nahal) is an organization
that combines military service with agricultural training in a tradition that
recalls the vision of the original architects of the IDF. The primary activity
of Nahal, one of four "functional commands" within the IDF organizational
structure, is the establishment and maintenance of military and agricultural
outposts, or settlements (heachzvyot). On the eve of the six-day war there
were thirty-four settlements in frontier areas of Israel; in late 1977 after a
decade when new settlements were also located in the occupied territories,
Nahal celebrated the establishment of the one hundredth settlement. Nahal's
military missions are to serve as a first line of defense against ground
attack along the borders, to prevent infiltration, and to assist and support
Israeli occupation authorities in the territories. Nonmilitary missions are
economic-in the development of previously unused agricultural land;
social-in the socialization of immigrant and delinquent youth; and since 1967
political-in the declaration of Israeli rule in the immediate area
surrounding new settlements (see The IDF as an Army of Occupation; Armed
Forces and Society, this ch.).

     In 1977 Nahal had an estimated total strength of about 5,000 personnel,
consisting of both men and women who volunteer for Nahal upon conscription.
The basic unit is the platoon, with strengths ranging from about twenty to
eighty youths depending on assignment. A small headquarters serves as a
command element for a number of platoons located in the same general area.
Platoons are assigned either to reinforce existing frontier settlements or
establish new ones in areas unsuitable for development by the civilian
population. Strategic considerations are a fundamental factor in the selection
of locations where Nahal units are to be stationed. Some of the new sites are
later abandoned as no longer useful; others become permanent civilian
settlements.

     The Youth Corps (Gdudei Noar-Gadna), another IDF "functional command,"
consists of over 30,000 youths, ages fourteen to seventeen, formed into
battalions that are under the command of an IDF captain (seren). One of
numerous groups of Israeli youth Gadna is administered jointly by the
ministries of defense and education and functions to introduce
secondary-school students to the common Israeli experience of army life and to
indoctrinate them to Israel's special security situation. Time spent in
training increases from fifteen days yearly plus one hour per week during
the ninth year to some forty days a year in the twelfth and consists, in part,
of camping , physical fitness, army discipline, and target shooting for
twelfth grade Jewish students. Gadna also participates in the socialization of
recent immigrants and juvenile delinquents; it has not been mobilized for
military tasks since the 1948 war.

Manpower and Training

     The Defense Service Law of 1949, as amended, and the Basic Law, 1976,
provide the legal basis for military service in Israel, which is mandatory,
beginning at age eighteen, for male and female citizens and resident aliens.
The length of compulsory military service has varied from eighteen months to
two years for women and from two to three and one-half years for men; in
mid-1978 women conscripts served two years and males three. New immigrants, if
younger than twenty-nine for males or twenty-six for females, are subject to
the same terms of conscription; if they are older the length of service
becomes shorter.

     Muslim and Christian Arabs are exempted, although they may volunteer. The
small Druze community has been subject to conscription since 1955. Druze
leaders at that time, feeling that being exempted from military service denied
them full rights of citizenship, requested that their constituency be drafted;
but during the 1970s there was increasing resentment within the Druze
community because they were drafted while other Arabs were exempt (see The
Arab Minorities, ch. 2).

     Exemptions for Jewish males are rare, and about 90 percent of the some
30,000 who reach age eighteen each year are drafted. Several hundred
ultra-orthodox students studying at yeshivot (see Glossary) receive exemptions
yearly. Exemptions for conscientious objectors are rare, and the minimum
physical and educational standards for induction are very low in order to
exclude a minimum number of Jewish males from service in the IDF.

     Standards for admission are considerably higher for women, and exemptions
are given much more freely; only about 50 percent of the some 30,000 females
eligible yearly are inducted. Nearly 20 percent of eligible women are exempted
for "religious reasons," nearly 10 percent because they are married; and most
of the remaining 20 percent are rejected as not meeting minimum educational
standards (eighth grade during the mid-1970s). A law passed in 1978 made
exemptions for women on religious grounds automatic upon the signing of a
simple declaration to that effect. This legislation raised considerable
controversy, and IDF officials feared that the exemption could be abused by
any nonreligious woman who did not wish to serve and thus further exacerbate
the already strained manpower resources of the IDF. By law, women who are
exempted on religious grounds are required to fulfill a period of alternative
service doing social or educational work assigned to them. In practice,
however, women are free to volunteer for such service but are not held to this
legal obligation. Female conscripts join the Women's Army Corps, commonly
known by its Hebrew acronym CHEN, and, after a five-week period of basic
training, fulfill a wide variety of functions, including clerical and
administrative and educational and technical duties. Very few women perform
combat duties; rather their major importance within the IDF is to free men
for combat.

     A limited number of conscripts are allowed to pursue university studies
in such vital fields as medicine and engineering on a fulltime basis upon
completion of basic training. This "academic reserve" is designed to partially
fill the need for skilled manpower. Members train during summer vacation
months and are required to fulfill their active-duty commitment upon
completion of their studies.

     The Defense Service Law also requires that each conscript, upon
completion of his active-duty service, remain in a reserve unit and continue
to train on a regular basis until age fifty-five for men and thirty-nine for
women. Mothers are deleted from the reserve rolls, and in practice even
childless females are rarely called for reserve duty. Male reservists,
however, spend considerable time in training as reserves. Usually reserves
train one day per month plus one month a year (officers and noncommissioned
officers-NCOs-serve seven days yearly in addition), though in fact time
spent in reserve duty varies greatly among units. Since 1967 reserve duty has
generally lengthened as the IDF has witnessed a growing manpower need. By the
mid-1970s it was common for some reservists to serve two months or more a
year; in 1975 it was reported that some engineer corps reserves were even
serving the year-round. Time spent in reserve duty diminishes after age
thirty-nine.

     This extensive reserve system, the most demanding of any in the world, is
vital to Israel's defense posture. It allows the country to limit the fulltime
manpower within the IDF, thus freeing vitally needed people for civilian tasks
during most of the year; because of the system it is possible to triple the
size of the IDF within forty-eight to seventy-two hours of the announcement of
a full mobilization. The demands that the system places on Israeli citizens
are reportedly a source of discontent, and some analysts feel that reserve
duty is a major cause of emigration. In 1975 an estimated 40,000 reservists
were living abroad.

     Israel has no military academy as a source of officers; although there
are two secondary schools that stress military training in their curricula,
they do not offer commissions. Rather, officers are selected from among
conscripts and, after their obligatory service, either remain as reserve
officers or sign contracts, which are renewable every three to five years, to
be career soldiers within the standing ranks of the IDF ( since the mid-1970s
career soldiers may sign long-term contracts for more than five years). A wide
variety of Jewish social and economic backgrounds are represented in the
officer corps, although Sabras (see Glossary), Ashkenazim (see Glossary), and
members of Kibbutzim and moshavim (see Glossary) are represented well beyond
their respective percentages in the society as a whole. Non-Jews are uncommon,
largely because very few are conscripted. Druzes are conscripted, and many
become officers in the minorities unit within which most serve. As of the
early 1970s, nevertheless, the highest rank ever attained by a Druze was that
of major (rav seren).

     All conscripts fit for combat duty undergo twelve weeks of rigorous basic
training; weaker recruits are given a shorter and less demanding course to
prepare them for noncombat duty. Most are then assigned to specific corps,
including the air force, navy, artillery, and armor, where they undergo
further training within their assigned unit. Those who do well in basic
training are considered potential commissioned officers or NCOs and are sent
to a squad commanders' course where combat skills are refined.

     From there, some soldiers are sent to serve as privates or NCO's
throughout the IDF while potential officers are sent on to the officer
training course. They first undergo a common course to learn basic military
and command skills for an infantry unit, then undergo specialized command
training within a specific unit in a fashion paralleling conscript training.
Those who successfully complete the year-long course are commissioned as
second lieutenants (segan mishneh).

     Further training of commissioned officers consists primarily of civilian
university and vocational schooling relevant to their specific fields,
although two military courses are required for certain promotions. Before
promotion to captain the officer must pass a company commanders' course in
which subunit commanders learn about other supporting arms and how to
coordinate movement on the battlefield. Before promotion to colonel he must
pass the command and staff course, which focuses on command problems at the
brigade level. A small number of very senior officers, along with civilian
government officials, attend a course at the National Defense College where
national security problems and strategies are discussed at the highest level.

Conditions of Service

Pay and Benefits

     Traditionally conditions of service in the IDF have been rather spartan;
Israeli soldiers served out of a patriotic desire to defend the homeland
rather than for material benefits. During the 1970s, however, as the manpower
needs of the IDF have grown substantially, material considerations have become
more important, due particularly to the need to attract skilled technicians
from the civilian sector. The nearly continual cycle of increases in pay and
benefits during the period have been both to attract additional manpower and
to compensate for the ever-rising cost of living. A survey conducted by the
manpower branch of the general staff in 1976 found that 60 percent of career
technical personnel remained in the IDF primarily for its material benefits,
while 40 percent felt patriotic and idealistic reasons to be the most
significant factor in their decision.

     Salaries for career soldiers are generally linked to the civilian sector,
so that compensation for education, skills, and responsibilities in the IDF
is commensurate with that in the civilian sector, whose wages are largely
standardized. On the one hand career soldiers receive supplements and benefits
not available to the civilian, but on the other hand it is difficult, if not
impossible, for a career soldier to moonlight, a practice prevalent among
civilians.

     Basic pay is low and, because it changes more slowly than other
components of salary, has become progressively less significant in the
soldier's total pay. Supplements to base pay have increased dramatically,
however, and in mid-1978 there were a total of some 100 different supplements
available to the career officer, the average officer having from twenty to
twenty-five supplements to his base pay reflected in each monthly paycheck.
The most important, the cost-of-living supplement, was adjusted at six-month
intervals and in mid-1978 amounted to twice the base pay for a middle-ranking
officer. Other supplements included a family supplement that rose with the
number of dependents, a readiness supplement to compensate for a soldier's
need to be on twenty-four-hour call, a professional supplement for special
professional skills, a career supplement consisting of a one-time bonus upon
signing a new contract as well as a monthly stipend, a seniority supplement
tied to years in service and grade, a rent supplement under which one's
private housing is partially paid for, a transportation supplement for the use
of one's private vehicle to and from work, and supplements for high risk and
hardship duties. These duties included service in a forward area, a combat
unit, a parachute unit, flight pay, submarine duty, and sea duty. By the
mid-1970s the number of supplements had become a "bureaucratic nightmare",
and efforts to simplify the system were ongoing.

     If the system of supplements brought the career soldier's pay up to a
level necessary for a moderate standard of living, it was the system of
benefits that made service within the IDF an attractive career from a
material standpoint. Housing, of course, was free if the soldier chose to
live on base and was subsidized if he lived near base or was relocated.
Low-interest mortgages were available for those who chose to buy a home. A
wide variety of consumer goods were available at considerable reductions at a
widespread system of on-and off-base post exchanges, called shekem, that
also offered career soldiers interest-free credit, which was extremely
valuable in an economy whose annual inflation rate approached 40 percent.
Public transportation was free, but because this benefit had become so
expensive to the IDF, in 1978 its officials were considering making this
a benefit only applicable to female soldiers. All officers above the rank of
major have access to military vehicles, the kind of car available
corresponding to the officer's rank, though regular deductions were made
from the officer's pay for his private use of the car.

     Vacation leave was commensurate with rank and years of service, ranging
between sixteen and thirty days per year. The officer received an average of
two weeks' regular pay during vacation and in addition received a per diem
expense account during annual leave, when he could choose to go to one of
several oceanside resorts operated by the IDF. Medical care was free for the
soldier and available at reduced rates for his family. Property and income
taxes were reduced. Life insurance for the soldier and his or her spouse was
free, and other kinds of insurance were available at reduced rates. A soldier
could pursue one high school or university degree at IDF expense, and
educational expenses for his children were reduced. Legal assistance was
provided free, and telephone expenses were subsidized, as were various
entertainment expenses.

     Conscript soldiers, of course, had pay and benefits far below those of
the career soldier. Pay was minimal, intended only to cover a moderate level
of personal expenses; only seven supplements were available to the conscript.
Benefits were also minimal and included basic or secondary-school education
for some and four days leave per three-month period.

     Pay and benefits for the reservist while on active duty were also less
than for the career soldier. Reservist pay was supplemented by one's employer,
who paid a small percentage of the employee's salary to the national security
fund (keren hashvaha) from which the employer draws to pay the reservist while
on active duty. Those who were self-employed could put money into the fund to
receive a salary while on duty or they could choose not to contribute, in
which case they received only subsistence pay while on active duty. Reservists
may use the post exchange only while on active duty.

     Retired officers received from 2 to 4 percent of their final pay for each
year of service, depending on their job. Retired pilots, for example, received
4 percent and were said to live quite comfortably in retirement. In addition,
retired officers and NCOs continued to receive a reduced number of the
benefits that had been available to them while in service. Disabled veterans
received extra allowances and benefits. Retiring officers usually seek a
second career; the IDF helps the transition into civilian life by offering
occupational training (a course in business management, for example) and by
paying the retired officer's full salary for three to twelve months, depending
on rank and seniority, while he seeks satisfactory civilian employment.

Rank, Insignia, and Uniforms

     There are three basic commissioned officer ranks in the IDF: commander of
tens (segen); commander of hundreds (seren); and commander of thousands
(aluf). All other ranks are variations of these, with prefixes and suffixes to
indicate relative seniority. Rank titles are the same for the ground forces,
the navy, and the air force. The rank of lieutenant general (rav aluf) is held
by only one officer serving on active duty, the chief of staff. Major generals
include each of the three area commanders, the commander of the armor corps,
the chiefs of the five branches of the general staff, and the commanders of
the navy and air force. Promotion is based on a minimum time in grade and on
performance. Traditionally promotions have been rapid for talented young
officers, it being not uncommon to find senior-ranking officers in their
thirties. During the 1970s, however, officers have generally spent more time
in each grade and retired at a later age. Mandatory retirement is at
fifty-five, though most officers retire during their forties to undertake a
second career.

     In 1968 a temporary rank, called memale mkom katzim (literally, officer
place filler), was created for those unable to graduate from officer candidate
school; those who hold this rank must rapidly fulfill the requirements for
candidacy or they become NCOs. United States equivalents for enlisted ranks
are less exact than for officers. The three senior NCO grades are often
equated to warrant officer rank; status and function are much alike. The
lowest career NCO rank is sergeant (samal).

     Officers' rank insignia are gold on a dark green background superimposed
on a grey shoulder board for the ground forces, silver on a grey shoulder
board for the air force, and the standard gold worn on the sleeve for the
navy. Insignia are worn on epaulets on top of both shoulders. Insignia
distinctive to each service is worn on the cap (see fig. 11).

     Rank insignia for enlisted grades are worn on the sleeve, halfway between
the shoulder and the elbow, and are white and gold on an olive drab background
for the ground forces and white and silver on a dark blue background for the
air force. A wide variety of insignia, emblems, and shoulder badges are also
worn by all personnel to indicate the unit to which each soldier is attached
(see fig. 12).

     The basic uniform of the IDF is generally of a British style: a short
waist-length jacket, belted at the waist, and matching trousers. Except for
the typical seaman's uniform and a special dress uniform for certain officers,
uniforms for officer and enlisted personnel are generally the same color;
service and rank insignia are usually the only distinguishing features. Dress
uniforms are olive drab for the ground forces, blue-grey for the air force,
and navy blue for the navy. Headgear consists of a peaked service cap and, for
ground forces and air force personnel, a beret that is blue for air force,
black for armor corps, red for paratroopers, and khaki for all other ground
force units.

     Warm weather dress consists of khaki uniform shirts with two flapped
pockets and epaulets and khaki trousers. Green or camouflage combat fatigues
are used both summer and winter. Women's dress parallels that of men but
consists of a skirt and a garrison cap. Foreign observers agree that uniforms
and general appearance are unspectacular but in keeping with the traditional
dislike of military show and ostentation.

Awards and Decorations

     Awards and decorations carry considerable prestige in the IDF simply
because so few are given. In 1973 the IDF instituted a new system of military
decorations, and all soldiers decorated since 1948 received one of three
medals that subsequently existed for outstanding service in the IDF. Each
medal is accompanied by a ribbon worn above the left breast pocket. The least
prestigious, Etour Hamofet, or medal for exemplary conduct, accompanied by a
blue ribbon, is worn by over 1,000 soldiers. Etour Haoz, or medal for bravery,
accompanied by a red ribbon, is worn by over 100 soldiers. The highest medal,
Etour Hgevora, or medal for heroism, is accompanied by a yellow ribbon and
worn by less than twenty IDF soldiers. Unit commanders may, through a letter
of recognition, unofficially recognize service that is outstanding but not
sufficient to receive a medal. Other ribbons and medals are limited to
campaign ribbons awarded for service in the War of Independence, the Sinai
Campaign, and the wars of 1967 and 1973, and to badges worn by those' who
served in the Palmach and Jewish Brigade Group before the formation of the
IDF.

     Each independence day, no more than ten Israelis receive the Security of
Israel Award, which is one component of the prestigious Israel Prize, awarded
for outstanding achievement in a variety of professional fields. This award,
which consists of a placard and a monetary grant, is given for outstanding
service to the defense of Israel by either military or civilian personnel. On
the same day each year the IDF honors 100 outstanding soldiers, chosen from
among conscripts and career soldiers, with a placard presented by Israel's
president.

Discipline and Military Justice

     Military discipline is characterized by informality in relations between
officers and enlisted men and apparent lack of concern for such exterior
symbols as smartness on the parade ground and military appearance and bearing.
Little attention is devoted to military drills and ceremonies, and uniform
regulations are not always strictly enforced. Although such visible
manifestations of traditional military discipline have historically been
viewed as unimportant as long as the level of performance in combat remained
high, the failures of the 1973 war resulted in a renewed concern with
disciplinary problems. The Agranat Commission, which studied the failures of
the 1973 war, criticized the casualness of relations between ranks and
suggested that lax discipline led to failures in such vital areas as the
maintenance of weapons.

     After 1973 there was some tightening up of discipline, but it was
generally felt that stringent spit-and-polish style disciplinary measures were
unnecessary and would run counter to the egalitarian traditions of Zionism and
the nature of the IDF as largely an army of civilians. Despite the efforts
made there was a marked increase in certain kinds of unlawful activities,
particularly drug abuse, but also thefts and violent behavior, within the IDF
during the mid-1970s. Most commentators attributed the problem to the
post-1973 policy of conscripting former criminal offenders, although the
increase in drug abuse, particularly hashish, could also be attributed to the
increased availability of illegal drugs in the society as a whole (see
Incidence of Crime, this ch.). Career soldiers convicted of possession of
illegal drugs are dismissed.

     The Military Justice Law of 1955 embraces the entire range of legal
matters affecting IDF personnel. Under its provisions, a separate and
independent system of military courts is established; military offenses are
defined, and maximum authorized punishments are specified in each case; and
pretrial, trial, and appeal procedures and rules of evidence are described in
detail. Military law applies to all military personnel, including reservists
on active duty, to civilian employees of the IDF, and to certain other
civilians engaged in defense-related activities. Punishments include
confinement to camp, loss of pay, reprimand, fine, reduction in rank,
imprisonment up to life, and death, though neither life imprisonment nor the
death penalty have ever been imposed on IDF personnel.

     Courts-martial of the first instance include district courts, naval
courts, field courts, and special courts with jurisdiction over officers
above the rank of lieutenant colonel. All courts are composed of three
members, at least one of whom must be a legally qualified military judge,
except the special court, which may have three or five members. No member may
be of lower rank than the accused. The district court is the basic
court-martial of the first instance. A naval court-martial may be convened at
sea when the vessel is not expected to return to coastal waters for at least
twenty-one days and when the commander deems an early trial to be necessary in
the interest of discipline. The establishment of field courts may be
authorized by the minister of defense in times of actual fighting.

     The accused may act as his own defense counsel or elect to be represented
by another military person or by a civilian lawyer authorized to practice
before courts-martial. Any judgment may be appealed within fifteen days.
Appeals from conviction or punishment are decided by a three-member
court-martial empaneled from members of the Military Court of Appeals.

     The IDF also maintains a system of military courts, with compositions and
procedures similar to those of the courts-martial, to try civilians accused of
security-related offenses within Israel and the occupied territories. Trials
of civilians may be ordered to be held in camera if it is felt that an open
trial would compromise Israeli security (see The IDF as an Army of Occupation,
this ch.).