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The soldier will strive towards complete and successful implementation of all that is demanded of him according to his orders and their spirit, in the framework of the law.
The discipline of IDF troops means their readiness to act with all their faculties to carry out what is demanded of them, fully and successfully, according to their understanding of the orders and in keeping with their spirit, with the continual aspiration to understand and internalize, while taking care to give lawful orders and repudiate those that are clearly illegal.
Loyalty
The soldier will act with utter devotion to the defense of the State of Israel and all its citizens, in accordance with IDF orders, within the framework of the laws of the state and the principles of democracy.
The loyalty of IDF soldiers lies in their devotion, in all their deeds, to their homeland the State of Israel, to all its citizens, and to its army, and in their continual readiness to fight, to devote all their strength, and even to sacrifice their lives in defense of the lives of its residents and their well-being, and in defense of the sovereign State of Israel, in accordance with the values of the IDF and its orders, and while upholding the laws of the state and its democratic principles.
Representation
The soldier will see himself always as the representative and agent of the IDF, acting only within the bounds of his authority and orders.
Representation of IDF soldiers means the awareness, manifest in all of their actions, that the military power in their hands and the right to use it are given to them only by virtue of their belonging to the IDF, in their capacity as responsible agents carrying out their functions in its service, within its authorities, according to orders and decisions made by the IDF, the army of the State of Israel, acting according to its laws, and subject to the authority of its government.
Camaraderie
The soldier will always come to the aid of his comrades when they are in need or dependent upon him, notwithstanding any danger or difficulty, even to the point of self-sacrifice.
The camaraderie of IDF soldiers means esprit de corps, everlasting devotion to one another, readiness to extend deserved help, even to endanger their lives for their comrades in arms. They will act to preserve and bolster the cohesiveness of their unit, with full cooperation among different units, maintaining uniformity of aims throughout the IDF.
Guiding Principles
A. Values
1. The soldier, in all of his actions and deeds, will incorporate the basic values of the IDF: Tenacity, responsibility, integrity, personal example, human life, purity of arms, professionalism, discipline, loyalty, representation and camaraderie, in accordance with their definition and with the circumstances encountered.
2. The soldier will take into account, in all his activities during his military service, that he bears responsibility not only for the results of his actions and omissions, but also for the patterns of behavior that he helps to produce, through his orders or his personal example, explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally.
B. In Military Service
3. The soldier will see himself, in all his various actions, as bearing full and pivotal responsibility for the lives of the troops and all others who are dependent on his actions and decisions.
4. The soldier will be prepared to endanger his life when encountering the enemy, and to save human life (to the extent necessary), but will do everything possible to preserve his life and that of his comrades in any other military activity.
5. The soldier will take into account, in all relevant contexts, not only proper concern for human life, but also the influence his actions have on the spiritual and physical integrity of the individual, and on his honor.
6. The soldier will endeavor to utilize all of his faculties to the maximum degree possible, in line with the demands made of him and with the preference given by the IDF to combat and command roles.
7. The soldier, in all his deeds, will scrupulously protect the honor of the country, its institutions, sites and symbols, including the IDF’s honor and symbols.
8. The soldier will show particular reverence for his fallen comrades. He will act respectfully at cemeteries, memorial displays and remembrance ceremonies, and will treat the bereaved families with deference.
9. The soldier will preserve the IDF tradition of honoring disabled and wounded IDF veterans.
10. The soldier will preserve the IDF tradition of learning IDF battle lore and of helping to boost the spirit of his unit.
11. The soldier will not express his personal opinions on issues beyond his area of responsibility, authority and professional skill, and certainly not his personal opinions on political, social or ideological topics subject to public debate.
12. The soldier will use his power and his military, command or professional status only for the good of the IDF, never using them illegitimately in order to advance a personal interest or any other objective that is beyond the boundaries of his authority and responsibility, whether by the letter or spirit of the law, within or without the IDF.
13. The soldier will see himself as responsible for the results of actions taken under his orders, and will stand behind anyone acting in line with them or in an otherwise proper fashion. The soldier will see himself as responsible for behavioral patterns that he has instilled.
14. The soldier will stand by his unit and its commanders in every effort necessary to fulfill the unit’s missions, and in building, developing and utilizing military force. The soldier will obey his superiors as required by law and will respect his superiors, colleagues and subordinates.
15. The soldier will not conceal any infraction or mishap and will dismiss any suggestion to be a partner in such enterprise. In the face of an infraction or mishap, the soldier will act intelligently and do whatever is needed to remedy the misdeed.
16. The soldier participating in a discussion or argument connected with IDF activity, before, during or after implementation, will take a stand and express his opinion in line with his knowledge and professional belief, honestly, bravely and fairly.
17. The soldier will use the force at his disposal towards another person only in a fair, restrained, intelligent and professional fashion, showing the proper respect for the privacy of the body and life of the other.
18. The soldier will see his appearance in IDF uniform as a symbol of his loyalty to the principles and basic guidelines of the IDF.
C. Encountering the Enemy
19. In every encounter with the enemy, the soldier will use the force at his disposal bravely and wisely, while demonstrating tenacity, and with ongoing readiness to fulfill all his duties, notwithstanding danger to his life or any other obstacle.
20. The soldier will be prepared to do whatever is necessary, even risk his life, in order to rush to the aid of his comrades and not to abandon wounded troops on the battlefield.
21. The soldier will act, in every encounter with the enemy, in accordance with the letter and spirit of the laws of war, preserving the purity of arms and ethics of warfare.
22. The soldier will treat enemy soldiers and civilians, in areas controlled by the IDF, in accordance with the letter and spirit of the laws of war, and only within the bounds of his duties.
23. The soldier will act fairly, restrained to the extent necessary, wisely and professionally, within the bounds of his duties, in every contact with civilians residing or otherwise present in areas controlled by the IDF, whether during combat or thereafter. The soldier will respect, as much as possible, the beliefs, values, and holy and historical sites of these civilians, according to the principles and basic guidelines of the IDF, and to military necessity under the given circumstances.
24. The soldier will fight and strive up to the limit of his endurance, even when his life is threatened, in order to avoid surrendering to the enemy; on the contrary, the enemy must be overcome. The soldier will not surrender to the enemy as long as he has a chance to carry out his mission. Even barring this circumstance, the soldier will not surrender as long as he is in communication with his commander or is able to evacuate.
25. The soldier who, despite everything, falls captive, will act in accordance with IDF directives, responsibly, thoughtfully and honorably.
D. With Regard to Civilian Bodies
26. The soldier will give preference to the aims of the IDF, in keeping with its directives, orders, principles and basic guidelines, over the advancement of any civilian organization, in any case of conflict between the aims of the IDF and those of the organization.
27. The soldier will conduct all official contacts with civilian bodies in a professional manner and without impairing the principles, basic guidelines and honor of the IDF.
28. The soldier may be connected with a commercial or civilian body only in accordance with existing orders and practices, in their letter and spirit, and within the bounds of his duties.
29. The soldier will refuse personal favors derived from his role, rank, status or actions. The soldier will not request and will not agree to receive favors of any kind from any source, within or without the IDF, directly or indirectly, whether for himself or for someone else, except in line with existing orders and practices.
30. The soldier will take care, in any public appearance (especially in the media), to secure prior approval, to express absolute and unflinching loyalty to the principles and basic guidelines of the IDF, to represent the policies and decisions of the IDF, and to contribute to the public’s faith in the IDF.
31. The soldier will be certain that his behavior in private circumstances cannot be interpreted as detrimental to the IDF’s principles and basic guidelines, nor harmful to the public’s faith in the IDF, nor contributing to the creation of behavioral patterns liable to impair the realization of the IDF’s principles and basic guidelines.
E. In Reserves and Retirement
32. The soldier will act, during his reserve duty, according to the same IDF principles and basic guidelines that apply to the soldier in regular service.
33. The discharged soldier may use privileged or sensitive information coming into his possession during his military service only with appropriate permission to use this information for commercial, media or other purposes outside the framework of IDF service, to advance a personal or other aim.
34. The discharged soldier will make use of his military status, including his reserve or retirement rank, or will give others permission to do so, after finishing his tour of active duty, only in civilian contexts in which there is no harm to the IDF’s principles, basic guidelines, honor or trust placed in it by the public.
Notes
1. Koteret Rashit, October 31, 1984. For Kasher’s claim about the temporary nature of the Law of Return, together with invectives against Menahem Begin, see the interview with Kasher in “Symbolism Itself,” in Al Hamishmar, December 20, 1991, p. 15; for his condemnation of the religious sector and of the idea of the land of Israel, see “How Far Asa Kasher?” in Ha’aretz weekend supplement, September 16, 1988, p. 16; on his feeling that the country is a lost cause morally and socially, and on emigration out of Israel as an expression of normalization, see “The Right Wing in Transition,” in Al Hamishmar, April 17, 1992, p. 8; for his condemnation of Basic Law: Jerusalem, see Asa Kasher, “There Are Limits,” in The Limits of Obedience (Tel Aviv: Yesh Gvul, 1985).
2. Kasher, “There Are Limits,” pp. 71, 74-75.
3. Yitzhak Nadav, Memoirs of a Hashomer Member (Jerusalem: Ministry of Defense, 1986), p. 70.
4. It is worth noting that the public education system is also charged with the responsibility of instilling love of homeland, as manifest in Article 2 of the State Education Law of 1953: “The aim of public school education is to infuse the educational process in this country with the values of the culture of Israel ... love of the homeland, the state and the Jewish people....”
5. This does not refer merely to the Trumpeldorian ethos that the IDF inherited from the pre-state militias, at the core of which stands the declaration that “it is good to die for our country.” The intention is rather that in the army’s day-to-day functioning lies the assumption of an emotional bond between IDF soldiers and the homeland and state. The IDF’s working assumption has been that in the eyes of those who serve in it, the army is not merely a workplace or a forced-labor camp, nor is it even an organization of professional soldiers such as the Foreign Legion. Rather, it is an almost voluntary organization, within whose framework the individual fulfills his moral, personal and communal obligation to serve society, to carry the burden of settling and defending the land, in accordance with traditional Zionist ideology. These assumptions seem, at first glance, to be a far cry from the realities of army life, when one examines the spectrum of motivating factors prevalent among Israeli soldiers today.
