An Army Like No Other: How the Israel Defense Force Made a Nation

with Haim Bresheeth, 13 October 2020 A history of the IDF that argues that Israel is a nation formed by its army. The Israeli army was established in 1948 by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, who believed that 'the whole nation is the army'. It was the instrument that might transform a diverse population into a new people. Since the foundation of Israel, therefore, the IDF has been the largest, richest and most influential institution in Israel's Jewish society and is the nursery of its social, economic and political ruling class. In this fascinating history, Bresheeth charts the evolution of the IDF from the Nakba to the continued assaults upon Gaza.