Of the various institutions surveyed in the Public Trust Index, published last week by the Israel Democracy Institute, there is one body that can - supposedly - be calm. As every year, the Israel Defense Forces is the body that enjoys the highest rate of public trust, far above institutions such as the Supreme Court, the media, the Knesset or the government. However, it would be a mistake to take this figure for granted. Contrary to popular belief, public confidence is not "in the pocket" of the military, certainly not in the current era of social networks, "Pike News," and, in particular, "post truth."
The recent Haredi mobilization affair - in which it was revealed that the IDF published data regarding Haredi mobilization, and the fear that something similar had occurred around the pilot to integrate armored warfare - demonstrates the extent to which military issues are socially and politically disputed. But above all, such matters demonstrate how precisely, in the post-truth era, two components are needed to maintain public confidence in the IDF: on the one hand, transparency, and on the other, civilian "oversight" in the form of journalistic and academic analyzes of issues. Military.
Haredi recruiting data, for example, such as the vast majority of the military's Big Data (replica repository), do not constitute a thing whose exposure would compromise information security or foreign relations. The United States treats this information about its armed forces as a public-owned asset that should be accessible - as long as there is no danger to state security. The IDF, on the other hand, acts as if its data were not collected and analyzed in the nation's service and taxpayer funding. The IDF archive may have completed digitization of all the material open to the public more than a decade ago, but in practice, applicants can only do so at Tel Hashomer. If the IDF already releases information to the public, as illustrated in the Peak Data case on Haredi recruitment, this is done as part of From the PR actions, and in a way that does not allow criticism of the method of data collection and analysis.
The public's trust in the military, which is the foundation of good social-military relations, also depends on the ability to monitor, analyze and verify what is done in the military. The importance of journalistic and academic analyzes is critical because most of us' personal experience of the military is quite limited. The fact that we were soldiers or even officers and commanders does not guarantee the ability to understand and appreciate depth processes. Most Israeli citizens are not themselves involved in personnel issues, martial law, policy or military procurement. Like environmental or economic issues, the public is dependent on the data and analyzes offered to it by the media, academia and civil society, when it comes to formulating its opinion. The ability of researchers and journalists to be aware of developments and trends, to analyze and provide the public with reliable insights - is highly dependent on access to reliable information from the military and state authorities. As the United States actually demonstrates, this requires transparency and reporting to be applied to all information on and by the military, as long as its exposure does not adversely affect state security.
The confidence in the military, both of the soldiers in command and the general public, is not self-evident. The phrase "know every mother of a delinquent who entrusted the fate of her construction to the deserving commanders," which is proudly based in the IDF bases and commander's offices, is an imperative, a value to be preserved. This trust is based on the personal experience of the soldiers and soldiers, on the stories they share with their friends And their family members - but increasingly in recent decades, even on the information disseminated to the public from media outlets, academics, research institutes and civil society organizations on the left and right. If the military wants to remain first in the public trust indices, it must adopt greater transparency in accessing such relevant data For public discussion.
Dr. Tamir Liebel is a visiting scholar at Bamberg University