ARMY NEWS - I

Although my grandchildren served in different sectors of the army, there was one significant feature of their training which was common to them all. It has been designated with the title “tohar haneshek” Literally translated, it means “Purity of Arms” and is a unique Israeli term.

The term was coined by Berl Katznelson, who was one of the intellectual founders of Labor Zionism. It was unanimously  adopted by all leaders of the yishuv (Mandatory Palestine),  irrespective of their political and social orientation. They proclaimed: “we have to learn about weapons, and to carry them, but we do not want those weapons to be stained  with innocent blood.” This has become a guiding motto ever since.

The application of “Purity of Arms" appeared for the first time in 1939 upon the growing Arab terror attacks on the Jewish “yishuv” (mandated Palestine).  The main Zionist paramilitary organization at the time was simply called  the “Haganah” (the Defence). Its original purpose was to defend Jewish settlements from Arab attacks, such as the riots of 1920, 1921, 1929 and during the 1936 -1939 Arab revolt in Palestine – when hundreds of Jewish men, women and children were murdered.

After the United Nations adopted a partition plan in Palestine in 1947, the Haganah came into the open as the biggest fighting force among Palestinian Jews, successfully overcoming Arab forces. Shortly after Israel's Independence Declaration and the beginning of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Haganah was dissolved and the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) became the official army of the state.

Jews believe the purpose of war is to protect life. They fight only because they are forced to do so. There is no glory in it. Israel has no celebrations for its wars, only monuments to the fallen soldiers and countless victims of terrorism, who gave their lives to defend their people.

Military ethics deal with a wide variety of issues concerning military behavior: from the relationship between the army and civilian leaders, on the use of arms when settling political conflicts, to moral behaviour during war and its aftermath, retaliation to terrorist attacks.  As wars become more and more ruled by advanced technology,  the moral questions of whether to employ a particular technology becomes imperative. 

The IDF differs from all other armies in the history of warfare. It goes to extremes to protect civilians on both sides, when it is forced to respond to rocket barrages and other attacks.