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«A Good Jew Is in the IDF!»

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«A Good Jew Is in the IDF!» Hanne Eggen Røislien «A good Jew is in the IDF!» A study of the role of religion in a military universe of meaning Thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor Trondheim, November 2010 Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Humanities Department for Archaeology and Religious Studies NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology Thesis for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor Faculty of Humanities Department of Archaeology and Religious Studies © Hanne Eggen Røislien ISBN 978-82-471-2404-8 (printed ver.) ISBN 978-82-471-2406-2 (electronic ver.) ISSN 1503-8181 Doctoral theses at NTNU, 2010:211 Printed by NTNU-trykk [3] “Soldiers in the Tsahal [Israel Defense Forces] are just as much Israeli as a result of the military. But, then again, the military is Israeli… Or, I mean, it is not just Israeli as in citizenship-Israeli. It is, after all, Jewish. Well, yeah. Tsahal soldiers represent the truly Jewish. First and foremost.” (Interview with IDF Brigadier General 07/04/09) [4] Preface: Meeting”Shlomi” (Extract from field diary: 24 June 2007) Shlomi’s eyes have turned inwards, as if he tries to look into his own thoughts to find the right words. He chews slowly on a mouthful of chocolate. I have treated him to a piece of cake and a large ice coffee in a Jerusalem café, and he eats it with such intense pleasure that there is little doubt that this is a rare occasion. On the day of our meeting he celebrates his 21st birthday – and exactly two years as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Today, he has just returned from a mission, and he is exhausted. We sit in silence for a while, and I look at the young man sitting in front of me. He met me in his dusty uniform, but quickly slipped into his civilian clothing. Now, only a green armlet around his wrist indicates his unit affiliation. He is fit and tanned, wearing a tight blue t-shirt, cool jeans, and the sandals that may be considered part of the national costume among secular, kibbutznik Israelis. He has an intense presence and fellow recruits in his unit have, with envy, told me that he is popular among the girls. But Shlomi comes across as someone who has experienced too much for his age: He is constantly throwing glimpses over his shoulder, is restless, and on several occasions struggles to keep the tears off his face. His fingers constantly fiddle with the M16 he keeps on his lap; he is clearly at ease with having a gun within reach and treats it with the same comfort as the bottles of water we all carry in an effort to survive the burning Middle Eastern summer. Shlomi wipes the sweat off his forehead and places his gun on the table between us. Then he takes a small sip of ice coffee, fixes his eyes on me and says: “Listen: I wish I was more religious, but I am a good Jew, you know. I am. So let me just put it this way: clearly, if you can be a good Jew, there is no reason why you shouldn’t. That’s where the IDF comes in. Because, you see, the IDF is totally kosher – totally. Which is a part of the army that I really like. A good Jew is in the IDF! As I said, just by entering the IDF, you are a good Jew and you live a good Jewish life. I like that, I really do.” [2] Then he pauses again, fiddles some more with his gun, and then leans back. He looks down. He sighs and his face goes dark: “You know that I was in the Lebanon War, right? That sucked... When it all broke loose we just looked at each other and thought ‘what the fuck do we do?’ So, we had to enter Lebanon. And that was, that was… it was so… different… We were stuck in the middle of nowhere in enemy territory and then it seemed as if they [the IDF leadership] forgot all about us! You stand there and feel so fucking alone. Can you imagine how that feels..?! But – then again, you can’t be individual about these things, when it is for a greater cause.” Shlomi leans over the table. He examines my face thoroughly, smiles and then says: “I’m glad you’re asking us this, you know. Too often I hear people assume that soldiers either only follow orders, that we don’t think for ourselves, or that we’re some evil creatures – God damn it, it is a bloody insult! Fuck them. Those people obviously haven’t been at war, they can’t have been soldiers. I mean - real soldiers. We think, we analyse – and we fight for something.” His says it with such a convincing and earnest expression that I believe he is being honest. Yet, I am curious. I have heard so much about these young men and the institution they represent, and it is both fascinating and alluring finally to hear their voices. But although they fight in an institution that is anything but alien to the press, so many questions remain unanswered. How can he say that a soldier in the IDF is “a good Jew”? I cannot help but wondering: What is this “something” that he fights for? [3] CONTENTS Preface: Meeting ”Shlomi” ........................................................................................................ 1 CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 5 1 THE DISSERTATION: PURPOSE AND SCOPE ............................................................ 9 The Puzzle ................................................................................................................................ 10 The Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 13 Situating the Study of Religion in the Research Context ......................................................... 15 Studying Religion Scientifically .......................................................................................... 16 Applying the Study of Religion: A Summary ...................................................................... 22 From ‘Religion’ to Judaism and Zionism ............................................................................ 24 What this Study is not About ............................................................................................... 30 The Military and the Discipline of Religion ............................................................................ 32 Why do Soldiers Fight? An Old Question but still No Answer ........................................... 32 Armies and Religions: Pretty similar after all? .................................................................... 36 The military in Religious Studies: Towards an Alternative Explanation ............................. 37 2 THE EMPIRICAL CONTEXT ........................................................................................ 43 The IDF: A Brief Introduction ................................................................................................. 43 History and Magnitude ......................................................................................................... 43 Previous Studies: A Brief Overview of Topics .................................................................... 47 Security concerns in everyday life ................................................................................... 47 The "Cultural Place" ......................................................................................................... 49 Conscientious and Political Literature ............................................................................. 50 Primary versus Secondary Sources: An Illustration ............................................................. 51 The Data ................................................................................................................................... 54 Table 1. Types of Data Collection ....................................................................................... 55 Table 2. Data Summary: Primary and Secondary Sources .................................................. 56 The Fieldwork: Selecting Interviewees and Interviewing Them ............................................. 56 The IDF Brigade: The Nachal .............................................................................................. 58 [4] The Battalion: The Gdud 50 ................................................................................................. 60 Real-Politik and Interviewee Selection ................................................................................ 64 The Interviews ...................................................................................................................... 65 “Generalisability” versus Particularity ..................................................................................... 68 3 THE ARTICLES: REFLECTIONS AND PRESENTATION ......................................... 72 The Articles: A Brief Presentation ....................................................................................... 74 4 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................. 79 5 APPENDIXES ................................................................................................................. 83 Appendix I: Fieldwork and Interviewees ............................................................................. 83 Appendix II: Interview Guide .............................................................................................. 86 Appendix III: Hebrew Glossary ..........................................................................................
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