Attrition: Israeli Army Screens Out Dissidents

Archives

May 10, 2006: The Israeli army has changed its recruit screening procedures to keep out those who might disobey orders if told to participate in removing Jewish settlers from the West Bank. The army discovered, when it removed Jewish settlers from Gaza last year, that it had hundreds of troops and officers who could not be depended on because of their political and religious convictions. These troops believed it was illegal or immoral to remove Jewish settlers. This caused a problem in the army, where everyone is expected to follow orders, otherwise the effectiveness of all the troops is degraded. While controversial, the new screening rules aregenerally agreed to be a prudent measure to maintain the effectiveness of the armed forces. However, at the same time, the army says it will be more lenient on taking chances with recruits showing psychological problems with violence or discipline. Being rejected for military service is something of a disgrace with many Israelis, and the military has been under pressure to at least give some of the lads with "violence and discipline" issues a chance. So now they will, and hope to replace the thousands who are expected to be rejected for their politically motivated disciplinary problems.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close