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Change Needed: Massive Reduction in Reserves Endangers People's Army | Israel today

2022-01-09T13:08:58.601Z


There is a lot of talk in Israeli society about the motivation to enlist, the willingness, and the thinking to join the army of employees • However, the findings of the research I conduct on the relationship between the IDF and Israeli society show that More • Opinion


In recent years, there has been a real storm in the field of conscription into the IDF. Much has been said in Israeli society about the motivation to enlist, the willingness, the thinking to move to a mercenary army, or as defined in "professional army" thinking. -Modernism and more.

Israeli society, which is considered a Western society, is strongly influenced by global trends in these aspects, but many thinkers argue that Israeli society as a whole is not a post-modernist member, and that the value of "sacrifice for the common good" has eroded over the years.

The composition of the canonical meaning that comes from the term "and Haggadah to your son" which in the Scriptures, has not been dramatically eroded in Israeli society, and a study I have conducted in the last decade presents clear and distinct data in this context [1].

First, when we turn to the sources and examine our customs and holidays - Israeli values ​​are still based on the transmission of ethos and myths within the family.

The findings of the research I am conducting on the relationship between the IDF and Israeli society show that the more the parents perform significant military service (father and mother), the higher the level of volunteering of their children for the community (while still in school).

This aspect also affects the readiness for meaningful service in the IDF, up the road. Thus, parents who have served in the IDF regularly and in the reserve pass on this important value as part of an intergenerational process.

This finding points to two important aspects: first, that the value of family in Israeli society has not eroded as in other Western societies.

The second, is that there is a significant expectation for the value of "sacrifice for the common good," not because of utilitarian aspects like money, but for the pure concept of the importance of the collective.

This finding shows that Israeli society, despite the fluctuations and conflicts, is still one that sees the collective as a value, and sees a clear need to contribute to the collective.

Second, the findings of the study indicate that beyond regular parental service, their service in the reserve also significantly affects education in the context of the value in question.

The IDF Reserve Service has always been a tier that influences the family - it unites it, builds in it an understanding of Israel's security needs, connects it to the national dimension, and preserves its cohesion as a nuclear body that generates values ​​internally and externally.

The Israeli family in which the parents serve in the reserve is a more cohesive family, and the chances that the children in such a family will continue in the spirit of the parents' reserve service, and in the long run the children will also serve in the reserve - with an emphasis on officer positions - are very high.

In this way, the reserve system, which has also shrunk over the years, preserves intergenerational affinity and lasting influence.

Many studies indicate that families in which parents serve in the reserve are more involved in the community, helping other families in times of crisis.

The above two findings illustrate how the "People's Army" mechanism still generates intergenerational influences with very positive implications for the future.

And yet, this spiral in the fabric of intergenerational values ​​is characterized by convergence - it is getting smaller.

The main reason for this is that in recent years the IDF has long been less and less in reserve service. In addition, there are units that have been disbanded, and reserve service does not continue beyond the age of 40, so in families where children are adults, they see parents in uniform less.

The willingness of children to follow in their parents' footsteps when it comes to contributing to the common good, and in meaningful service in the IDF is maintained, therefore, but a trend whereby the amount of cash in reserve decreases over time - threatens this all-important value, which is part of a cultural ethos.

[1] Comparative study based on an online questionnaire on social networks between the years 2015-2020.

Questionnaire participants come from over 95% of Jewish families, all over the country, with 60% of respondents reporting a medium to high socio-economic level.

Over 4800 respondents, 49% secular, 32% traditional, 15% religious, participated in the study, and the rest declare themselves "non-religious."

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Source: israelhayom

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