This is the Forward’s coverage of the Israel Defense Forces, the combined military forces of Israel.
IDF
The Latest
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Israel News Israel’s Lone Soldier Center Severs Ties With Rabbi George Finkelstein
The Lone Soldier Center, which looks after isolated young people serving in the Israel Defense Forces, has severed ties with a rabbi accused of inappropriate behavior with boys and young men. The center acted weeks after the Forward began making inquiries about Rabbi George Finkelstein’s involvement with the group. In an email to a Lone…
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Opinion Is Bibi Stalling Pick of IDF Chief to Promote Rightist?
More mystery and intrigue in the senior ranks of the Israel Defense Forces: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reported (Maariv, Haaretz) to be stalling the nomination of Israel’s next military chief of staff. His reasons are a topic of hot speculation, though the facts seem to speak for themselves. By law the nomination of a…
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Opinion 3 Ex-Security Chiefs Slam Bibi for Caving to Right
Three of Israel’s most senior ex-defense officials came out last week, almost simultaneously, with blistering attacks on the security policies of the Netanyahu coalition. Appearing in separate forums, the three — former Mossad director Shabtai Shavit, former Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin and former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi — each charged that the…
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Fast Forward Palestinian Man Approaching Gaza Fence Shot by IDF Troops
Israeli troops shot a Palestinian man in northern Gaza, killing him, Palestinian officials said. It is the first Gazan Palestinian to be killed by Israeli bullets since the Israel’s 50-day operation in Gaza last summer. Fadil Muhammad Halawah, 32, was hunting birds Sunday in the northern Gaza Strip when he was shot, the Palestinian Maan…
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Fast Forward Clashes in West Bank Leave Several Injured
Several people were injured in clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers fired crowd dispersal means at demonstrators near the Qalandiya checkpoint, hitting a Palestinian youth in the foot, the Ma’an news agency reported. An Israeli army spokeswoman said at least 80 Palestinians hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at…
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Opinion IDF, Shin Bet in TV Brawl: Did Hamas Want a War?
Israelis last week watched their defense establishment undergo its nastiest and arguably most dangerous meltdown in decades as the heads of two main branches, Benny Gantz of the Israel Defense Forces and Yoram Cohen of the Shin Bet security service, publicly traded insults and questioned each other’s integrity and professional competence. The public dispute erupted…
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Opinion Settler Yeshiva Battles IDF Over…Treadmills?
Thinkstock Score one for the settlers. In the ongoing battle between the most extreme West Bank settlement and the Israeli Defense Forces, the settlers of Yizhar have now announced a modest, if bizarre win. Following the threat of legal action, the IDF has agreed to move treadmills it had set up in Yizhar’s religious study…
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News Shaping the Israeli Military — in Stone
Shortly after his aliyah to Israel six years ago, then 73-year-old Morton Freiman met with Ofek Buchris, commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ Golani Brigade, and informed him that he wanted to join the Israeli army. When Buchris asked Freiman, a retired plastic surgeon from Miami, what he could do for the IDF, Freiman said…
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