The IDF a la Ethan Bronner, Introduction

My Obiter Dicta recently fisked an article by Ethan Bronner, desribing the takeover of the IDF by "religious nationalists" from the hand of liberal kibbutzniks. The trigger for this? The hotly debated testimonies regarding alleged war crimes commited by IDF soldiers during Operation Cast Lead. Apparently only datiyim do such things...

The article is a horrible example of how easy it is to smear a whole community, using half-truths, unproven generalizations and catchy buzzwords (liberal, nationalist). Even more infuriating is the fact that Bronner didn't bother to interview genuine experts on the subject of religious Jews in Israel such as Prof. Stuart Cohen or Prof. Asher Cohen. Instead, he spoke only with people on the hard left of the political spectrum (Prof. Moshe Halbertal, Prof. Yaron Ezrahi).

In attempt to partially rectify the impression one gets from this and other such articles, I will be posting on the various issues brought up by the article on an individual basis. My hope is that people will come away with a more nuanced understanding of Israeli society than is portrayed in the press.