Code of Ethics of the Israeli Soldier

Pnina Isseroff

(Une traduction française est vivement souhaitée : traduction@reinfo-israel.com.]


I've found my older son's "IDF Code of Ethics", which is given to every soldier in basic training and which he carries with him at all times. There are 11 basic tenets of the IDF, which are:
1.Devotion to the Mission
2.Responsibility
3.Reliability
4.Personal Example
5.Human Life
6.The Purity of Arms
7.Professionalism
8.Discipline
9.Loyalty
10.Worthiness to Represent the State of Israel
11.Comradeship

I won't translate the army definition of each one here, but under Purity of Arms, it says the following:

"The soldier will use his arms and his power to subdue the enemy in the necessary degree, and will restrain himself in order to prevent unnecessary harm to human life, limb, honor and property."

"The Purity of Arms of the IDF soldier is the restrained use he makes of his weapons and strength in the performance of his mission in the required degree only, without causing unnecessary harm to human life, limb, honor and property, of soldiers, of civilians, and especially the helpless, in times
of war and during regular security operations, during periods of quiet and in time of peace."

These are explicit instructions which every soldier receives and has drummed into him frequently during training. They have been part if the IDF code of honor from the begining of the State. Therefore, acting differently is AN EXCEPTION, not accepted by the army, and is investigated and punished.

And here is a translation of 5. Human Life:

"The soldier will protect human life to the utmost, out of awareness of its highest importance, and will only place himself or another at risk to the degree required to carry out the mission."

"The sanctity of life for the IDF soldier will be expressed in everything he does: in careful and meticulous planning, in considered training and in correct performance which correspond to the mission, the necessary level of danger, and the suitable level of caution, in a professional manner, and
with the constant effort to keep loss of life to the minimum required by the mission."

This doesn't refer only to the lives of soldiers, but to any loss of life.

Shalom,
Pnina Isseroff

[By courtesy of Posy McMillen, Fort Worth, USA].

[L'infatigable M. D. (Israël) nous signale for opportunément que l'on triuve l'intégralité de ce code d'honneur de l'armée israélienne (hélas! uniquement en anglais] sur :
www.idf.il./english/doctrine/doctrine.stm et sur
www.geocities.com/mazanga9/IDF/IDFDoctrine.htm
Qu'elle en soit remerciée.]