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Israel
CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS
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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