"The Most Moral Army In the World"

"The Most Moral Army In the World"

by Redacted

"The Israeli Defense Force says it will investigate this photo of an IDF soldier destroying a statue of Jesus on the Cross by taking a sledgehammer to the head. The image, unsurprisingly, prompted outrage online. The IDF responded that "the soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops."

Well, that's not what the troops themselves say. Israeli newspaper Haaretz published a report on what it calls the “moral injuries” experienced by former IDF soldiers after what they did and witnessed in Gaza. Moral injury is not the same as PTSD, which was originally developed as a diagnosis for Vietnam veterans experiencing trauma. Moral injury refers to trauma caused by one’s own actions.

"Moral injury happens due to exposure to incidents that are perceived as a fundamental violation of basic moral values – of oneself or of others – and typically involves feelings of guilt, shame, rage, disgust, alienation, loss of faith and a breakdown in identity, meaning and a sense of humanity," according to Professor Yossi Levi-Belz of the University of Haifa.

IDF soldiers told Haaretz about what haunts them. One recounts killing an old man and children. Another, a sniper, describes shooting people seeking aid. Others describe drone strikes that killed civilians. One reservist says he saw civilians fired upon and then buried with bulldozers. Another describes looting of Palestinian homes and the abuse of detainees.

All of them living in fear of retribution and shame. "Maybe in some way I want to die, to get it over with," one said. "I don't kill myself because I promised my mother, but I admit I don't know how long I can keep it up."

The IDF does not formally recognize moral injury or have programs in place to treat it. How could they? They would have to accept blame for what they sent them to do. "It's pretty obvious that a sociopolitical statement is being made here," said a mental health officer in the reserves. "After all, if we recognize that many soldiers are suffering from moral injuries, how does this fit with the cliché about the most moral army in the world? So, instead, they chose a phrase that shifts responsibility to the soldier, as if there were a problem with his identity rather than the actions his leaders sent him to perform."

So the question becomes harder to avoid: What does it mean to call an army “moral” if carrying out its orders is leaving its own soldiers psychologically and morally broken?"

- https://redacted.inc/