Otzma Yehudit chairman presents his plan for the Defense Ministry, putting Jewish values and victory over Israel’s enemies at the heart of “The Spirit of the IDF”

Otzma Yehudit chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has presented a sweeping rewrite today of the IDF’s code of ethics, known as “The Spirit of the IDF.” The changes are part of his Defense Ministry plan and aim to strengthen the army’s Jewish identity and restore the value of victory in battle.

Under the plan, the IDF’s purpose is redefined first and foremost as achieving victory over, and the decisive defeat of, the enemies of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. That emphasis runs throughout the new text.

“Righteousness of Arms” replaces “Purity of Arms”

The most prominent change concerns the long-standing “Purity of Arms” (Tohar HaNeshek) clause, which the new text abolishes and replaces with “Righteousness of Arms” (Tzidkat HaNeshek).

The new clause states that soldiers shall use their weapons to defeat the enemy, and that the fundamental Jewish moral principle guiding every soldier in carrying out the mission is the Talmudic rule: “If someone comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first.” The clause also states that each soldier shall preserve his humanity (tzelem enosh) even in combat.

At the same time, wording that restricted IDF soldiers to acting “only to the extent necessary” is removed, as are the provisions specifically prohibiting harm to “uninvolved persons” and prisoners. The reference to “universal moral values” that appeared in the previous version has been deleted entirely.

Jewish sources at the foundation

The new code broadens the army’s sources of values, placing Jewish moral values first: the values of the Tanakh, Jewish ethics, Hebrew law, and the tradition of the Jewish people throughout the generations. These are followed by the values of human dignity, the IDF’s own tradition and combat heritage, and the tradition of the State of Israel with its Jewish and democratic principles, laws and institutions.

The State is defined as a Jewish national home, and the IDF as “the army of the people, a Jewish national army.”

The new core values

• The IDF’s purpose: victory over and the decisive defeat of the enemies of the State of Israel and the Jewish people, and safeguarding the security of the State, its citizens and its residents.
• Love of the People of Israel and the Land of Israel, and loyalty to the State: service in the IDF rests on love of the Jewish people and the homeland, and devotion to the State of Israel as a Jewish state and a democratic national home for the Jewish people.
• Human dignity: every person has worth that is not conditional on origin, religion, nationality, gender, status, or position.
• Mamlachtiyut (Statehood): the IDF is a Jewish national army subject to the authority of the law and the government, and its soldiers act with only the mission, the IDF’s values, and the security of the State before their eyes.

The code goes on to list the values expected of every soldier, including tenacity of purpose and striving for victory, responsibility, credibility, personal example, the value of human life, Righteousness of Arms, professionalism, discipline, comradeship and a sense of mission. It also keeps the duty to give only lawful orders and to refuse manifestly unlawful ones. Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party is running in Israel’s Knesset elections on October 27.