IDF Drafts 'Foundational Principles' Document to Reinforce Values and Nonpartisanship Ahead of Elections

The Israel Defense Forces has begun drafting an official "foundational principles" document intended to clarify the military’s core values, set clear standards of permitted and prohibited conduct, and reaffirm the IDF’s nonpartisan role as national elections approach, N12 reported.

The draft is the product of several months of discussion by the General Staff, during which commanders were presented with data showing a sharp decline in discipline across units. The chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, has repeatedly stressed in recent weeks that he will not allow politics to enter the IDF.

The document is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks and distributed to commanders throughout the force, providing an authoritative code for behaviour and political boundaries within the military.

AN IDF soldier puts a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary. (credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

Context: Incidents That Prompted Action

Senior officers told the General Staff that a string of high-profile ethical breaches and disciplinary infractions helped prompt the initiative. Examples cited by the IDF and reported in the media include:

• A circulated photograph showing a soldier placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary.
• A soldier who wore a patch reading "Messiah" on his uniform and was sentenced to 30 days in military prison; his platoon commander received a suspended 14-day detention sentence, the company commander was reprimanded, and the battalion commander received a formal mark on his record.
• A soldier sentenced to 21 days in military prison for desecrating a Christian religious symbol in southern Lebanon, and another soldier sentenced to 14 days for filming the incident.
• A separate April incident in which a soldier was filmed smashing a statue of Jesus; both the soldier who destroyed the statue and the soldier who filmed it were removed from combat roles and each sentenced to 30 days in military prison. Six other soldiers present were strongly criticised for failing to intervene or report the incident.

The IDF described these episodes as clear deviations from its orders and values and said the planned principles document aims to make expectations unambiguous across the force.

Purpose and Expected Impact

Officials say the document will serve two main goals: to shore up internal discipline by giving commanders a concise, authoritative code to enforce, and to make explicit the military’s duty to remain politically neutral as Israel heads into elections. Commanders will be expected to distribute and implement the guidelines across units once the final text is issued.

Tzvi Jasper contributed to this report.