Soldiering under occupation : processes of numbing among Israeli soldiers in the Al-Aqsa Intifada / Erella Grassiani.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grassiani, Erella.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Al-Aqsa Intifada, 2000-2005--Atrocities.

Al-Aqsa Intifada, 2000-2005.

Soldiers--Israel--Social conditions.

Soldiers.

Soldiers--Israel--Moral conditions.

Soldiers--Israel--Attitudes.

Apathy.

Military ethics--Israel.

Military ethics.

Military government--Israel.

Military government.

Human rights--Israel.

Human rights.

Human rights--West Bank.

Human rights--Gaza Strip.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (168 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Berghahn Books, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Often, violent behavior or harassment from a soldier is dismissed by the military as unacceptable acts by individuals termed, "rotten apples." In this study, the author argues that this dismissal is unsatisfactory and that there is an urgent need to look at the (mis)behavior of soldiers from a structural point of view. When soldiers serve as an occupational force, they find themselves in a particular situation influenced by structural circumstances that heavily influence their behavior and moral decision-making. This study focuses on young Israeli men and their experiences as combat soldier

Contents:

Understanding Israeli soldiers

Israel: a militarized society

Uprisings

Soldiers as perpetrators

Misbehaviour and violence

Conclusion

Studying soldiers

Becoming or being a perpetrator

Space, power, (mis)behaviour and morality

Physical closeness and distance

Constructed moralities in speech

Moral disengagement and denial

Perpetrators' accounts

Checkpoints, arrests and patrols: spaces of occupation

Policing by soldiers: dirty work

Checkpoints: obstruction of passage

Arrests and 'straw widows': entering the private Palestinian domain

Patrolling

Performing as occupiers: operational dynamics

Routine

Relations of power

Tired, bored and scared: emotional, physical and cognitive numbing

Anger, boredom, frustration and more: the emotional dimension

Hot, cold and tired: the physical dimension

Unclear categories and uncertainty: implications of the cognitive dimension

Blurring morals: the numbed moral competence of soldiers

Moral professionalism

Cognitive blurring

Detachment: 'not thinking about it'

Morality in speech: discursive strategies of soldiers

The minimization of moral agency

Professionalism (miktsoayut)

Bottom-up: soldiers' talk

Strategic talk

Ideology

No need for explanation

Critical voices: moral re-sensitizing

The systemic approach: taking the Israeli case outside of its borders.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

1-80758-370-8

1-78238-228-3

1-78238-229-1

0-85745-957-0

OCLC:

855534407