A Portrait of the Israeli Soldier - (Contributions in Military Studies) by Reuven Gal & Reuvan Gal (Hardcover)

About the Book

No army in the Middle East has been as written about in English as has Israel's, yet this book actually says something new. Reuven Gal, former chief psychologist of the IDF, looks at the influences on the Israeli soldier and their impact on the IDF's performance. He is able to deal with issues such as motivation and camaraderie, leadership and heroism from a human viewpoint. . . . a detailed assembly of data such as this one is welcome, and the sociological-psychological jargon is kept at a minimum. This is neither hagiography nor psychobabble, and it contains a great deal of detail. Middle East Journal

Book Synopsis

No army in the Middle East has been as written about in English as has Israel's, yet this book actually says something new. Reuven Gal, former chief psychologist of the IDF, looks at the influences on the Israeli soldier and their impact on the IDF's performance. He is able to deal with issues such as motivation and camaraderie, leadership and heroism from a human viewpoint. . . . a detailed assembly of data such as this one is welcome, and the sociological-psychological jargon is kept at a minimum. This is neither hagiography nor psychobabble, and it contains a great deal of detail. Middle East Journal

Review Quotes

?After giving a brief historical background, Gal treats such subjects as: women in the army; motivation for service and fighting spirit; procedures involving selection, classification, placement, induction, and training; analysis of upper, middle and lower leadership echelons; and problems including battle stress, care of the wounded, military norms, and ethics. Many observations are based on survey data, e.g., polls and questionnaires conducted among soldiers and civilians. In a final chapter, Gal, former chief psychologist of the Israel Defense Forces, emphasizes four areas which pose a threat to the very foundation of the Israeli military during the dacade of the 1980s...': motivation problems, moral-ethical concerns, military competence, and quality of personnal. Despite military successes in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, that venture raised doubts about aspects of the military previously taken for granted, such as high morale and unstinting volunteerism. ... For students and general readers.?-Choice

"After giving a brief historical background, Gal treats such subjects as: women in the army; motivation for service and fighting spirit; procedures involving selection, classification, placement, induction, and training; analysis of upper, middle and lower leadership echelons; and problems including battle stress, care of the wounded, military norms, and ethics. Many observations are based on survey data, e.g., polls and questionnaires conducted among soldiers and civilians. In a final chapter, Gal, former chief psychologist of the Israel Defense Forces, emphasizes four areas which pose a threat to the very foundation of the Israeli military during the dacade of the 1980s...': motivation problems, moral-ethical concerns, military competence, and quality of personnal. Despite military successes in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, that venture raised doubts about aspects of the military previously taken for granted, such as high morale and unstinting volunteerism. ... For students and general readers."-Choice