The 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Reshaping of Israeli Civil–Military Relations

Edited by Udi Lebel and Eyal Lewin - Contributions by Alexander Bligh; Udi Lebel; Nissim Leon; Eyal Lewin; Rafi Mann and Eithan Orkibi

The 1973 Yom Kippur War did not only have external implications on Israel, but also some dramatic internal implications, particularly with regards to the civil-military relations as well as the fields of psychology and political sociology. To this day, the consequences of this war are still prevalent in Israel, in terms of drafting security policies and the military doctrine.
After the war, new identities were formed in the Israeli civil society, which began to function as active agents in shaping security policy. These players are not a unique Israeli case, yet their actions in Israel serve as a case study that illuminates their significant impact in other countries as well. This is due to the fact that the "Israeli Laboratory" is a liberal democratic society living with an ongoing conflict; it has a mandatory army that is sensitive to fluctuations in public opinion, culture and the media; and issues of national security and military conduct are always a top public concern.
Consequently, this book examines the rise of five identities and agents that were formed after the 1973 War and highlights the effects they had on the formation of Israeli defense policy from then on. The book also clarifies the importance of exposure to these agents' activities, referring to the psycho-political social factors that may actually dictate a state's international policies. It therefore forms a study that connects sociology, political psychology, international relations, the field of culture studies and studies of strategy planning. Thus, the book is of interest to both the domestic-Israeli field of research and to the global scholarly discourse, particularly to academic disciplines engaged in civil-military relations (political sociology, political science).

Lexington Books

Pages: 192 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-1-4985-1371-5 • Hardback • May 2015 • $103.00 • (£79.00)

978-1-4985-1372-2 • eBook • May 2015 • $97.50 • (£75.00)

Subjects: Political Science / World / Middle Eastern, History / Middle East / Israel & Palestine, Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / Security (National & International)

The 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Reshaping of Israeli Civil–Military Relations

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The 1973 Yom Kippur War did not only have external implications on Israel, but also some dramatic internal implications, particularly with regards to the civil-military relations as well as the fields of psychology and political sociology. To this day, the consequences of this war are still prevalent in Israel, in terms of drafting security policies and the military doctrine.
After the war, new identities were formed in the Israeli civil society, which began to function as active agents in shaping security policy. These players are not a unique Israeli case, yet their actions in Israel serve as a case study that illuminates their significant impact in other countries as well. This is due to the fact that the "Israeli Laboratory" is a liberal democratic society living with an ongoing conflict; it has a mandatory army that is sensitive to fluctuations in public opinion, culture and the media; and issues of national security and military conduct are always a top public concern.
Consequently, this book examines the rise of five identities and agents that were formed after the 1973 War and highlights the effects they had on the formation of Israeli defense policy from then on. The book also clarifies the importance of exposure to these agents' activities, referring to the psycho-political social factors that may actually dictate a state's international policies. It therefore forms a study that connects sociology, political psychology, international relations, the field of culture studies and studies of strategy planning. Thus, the book is of interest to both the domestic-Israeli field of research and to the global scholarly discourse, particularly to academic disciplines engaged in civil-military relations (political sociology, political science).

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 192 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-1-4985-1371-5 • Hardback • May 2015 • $103.00 • (£79.00)

978-1-4985-1372-2 • eBook • May 2015 • $97.50 • (£75.00)

Subjects: Political Science / World / Middle Eastern, History / Middle East / Israel & Palestine, Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / Security (National & International)

Author

Udi Lebel is associate professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ariel University.

Eyal Lewin is assistant professor at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science at Ariel University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction Udi Lebel and Eyal Lewin
Chapter 2: The Combatants’ Protest after the Yom Kippur War and the Transformation of the Protest Culture in Israel Eithan Orkibi
Chapter 3: The Significance of the Yom Kippur War as a Turning Point in the Religious-Zionist Society Nissim Leon
Chapter 4: From Domination to Competition: The Yom Kippur War (1973) and the Formation of a New Grief Community Udi Lebel
Chapter 5: Not Just Intermediaries: The Mediatization of Security Affairs in Israel since 1973 Rafi Mann
Chapter 6: The 1973 War and the Formation of Israeli POW Policy: A Watershed Line? Alexander Bligh
Chapter 7: The 1973 War as a Stimulator in the Reshaping of Israeli National Ethos Eyal Lewin

Reviews

The Yom Kippur War of 1973 was not only one of the most difficult that Israel has ever waged but was a shifting point for the country’s civil-military relations. This important volume analyzes these relations by tackling the key social actors that played a role in transforming the way politicians and leaders were appraised, in changing media representations of war and soldiering, in shaping how different social groups reacted to the conflict and in developing new forms of mourning and social memory of fallen soldiers. The book will be a very useful source for scholars and students wishing to understand the changes that contemporary Israel has undergone.
— Eyal Ben-Ari, Kinneret Center for Society, Security and Peace

A brilliant collection shedding fresh light on one the most traumatic events in Israel’s history. A must reading for anyone seeking to understand the changing nature of Israeli society in general, and its approach to regional reconciliation in particular.
— Efraim Karsh, Emeritus Professor of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King’s College London & Director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies