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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Israel
Index
The supremacy of civilian authorities over the military has
rarely been challenged in Israel's history. The Lavon affair of
1954 remains the major exception
(see The Emergence of the IDF
, ch.
1). Factors weighing against military interference have included
the prohibition on active officers engaging in politics and the
population's broad support for the nonpartisan behavior of the
armed forces. Given the ever-present external threat to Israeli
security, however, the military looms large in everyday life. This
has led some foreign observers to call Israel a "garrison
democracy." The military has also served as a channel into
politics, with political activity providing a "second career" for
retired or reservist officers after they complete their military
careers, usually between the ages of forty and fifty. This
phenomenon has left its mark on Israeli politics as high-ranking
retired or reservist IDF figures have often "parachuted" into the
leadership ranks of political parties and public institutions.
The most frequent instances of this tendency have occurred
during the demobilization of officers in postwar periods, for
example, following the 1948, 1967, and 1973 wars. Until the June
1967 War, the great majority of reservist or retired officers
joined Labor's ranks. In the 1950s, the first generation of such
officers included Moshe Dayan, Yigal Allon, Yigal Yadin, Israel
Galilee, and Chaim Herzog. After 1967, the number of such officers
co-opted into the political elite rose sharply, with many for the
first time joining center-right parties. Among those joining the
Labor Party were Yitzhak Rabin, Haim Bar-Lev
(bar, son of-- see Glossary),
Aharon Yariv, and Meir Amit. Ezer Weizman, Ariel
(Arik) Sharon, Mordechai Zipori, and Shlomo Lahat joined Likud.
Despite their widespread participation in politics, these exmilitary officers have not formed a distinct pressure group. The
armed forces have generally remained shielded from partisan
politics. The only possible exception was the IDF's military action
in Lebanon in June 1982, which disregarded the cabinet's decision
on the limits of the advance. The invasion occurred while Ariel
Sharon was minister of defense (1981-83) and Rafael Eitan was chief
of staff (1979-83); both individuals had stressed the independent
policy role of the IDF
(see The Military in Political Life
, ch. 5).
Data as of December 1988
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