The sword and the olive
Subtitle: a critical history of the Israeli defense force
By: Martin van Creveld.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Public Affairs
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 422
Subjects: Israel. Tseva haganah le-Yiśraʼel -- History; Israel -- Armed Forces -- History
Description: In this book, Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld offers a history of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). From the founding of Hashomer and guerrilla groups like Hagana and PAL-MACH, to the formation of the state of Israel, van Creveld shows how political disagreements were reflected militarily, and why it is necessary to understand the early internecine battles in order to make sense of contemporary Israeli politics. He includes the statesmen and soldiers who led Israel and fought for it--Moshe Dayan, Ariel Sharon, Golda Meir, Yitschak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Menachem Begin, and others--as well as the Arab leaders who opposed them. Van Creveld also corrects a number of famous misconceptions about the IDF--for example, that male and female soldiers are treated as equals--and reveals just how Israel may have secretly used its nuclear threat to win battles it might otherwise have lost. The sword and the olive also shows how, in 1982 in Lebanon, the Israeli Army for the first time fought a significantly weaker enemy and failed miserably. The Lebanese debacle--"Israel's Vietnam"--Was followed almost immediately by the IDF's attempt to put down the Palestinian uprising by force. Israel's troops killed over ten Arabs for every soldier they themselves lost, but as they did so their self respect disintegrated and their moral collapsed. The IDF has yet to recover and now it is beginning to realize that the greatest danger may not be from its Arab neighbors, but from within.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [365]-407) and index.