Support and Reservations: Ben-Gurion’s Attitude towards the Institutionalization of Religion in the IDF
Keywords:
David Ben-Gurion, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Religion in the IDF, Military RabbinateAbstract
The article examines Ben-Gurion’s attitude towards the complex issue of institutionalizing religion in the IDF. On the one hand, Ben-Gurion initiated the discontinuation of separate units for religious soldiers in 1948, in line with his stateoriented attitude, and pioneered the establishment of the Military Rabbinate so that both the religious and non-religious citizens could serve in the army. On the other hand, he staunchly opposed the expansion of the Military Rabbinate’s activities into education. This was the reason for his opposition to the creation of a ‘religion corps’ or ‘religious revival campaign’ in the IDF. Nevertheless, he was not against the Military Rabbinate’s educational activities in immigrant camps or its use of the Bible as an educational tool in the first years of the state.
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