Aiding the enemy in wartime from within

Israel uses force to defend its citizens. That is its duty. That is its obligation. But victory is not decided by fire alone. It is decided by restraint as well, by the ability to set a clear boundary for force and, above all, not cross it. Because this war also has an internal front. Not every shot is directed outward. There are also acts, statements, and pressures that give the enemy what it failed to achieve by force. There is a precise name for that: aiding the enemy in wartime.

The incident in Lebanon, in which a soldier smashed a statue of Jesus in the village of Dabel during operational activity, was not a passing lapse. It was a failure of strategic judgment. The desecration of a Christian symbol does not harm Hezbollah. It serves the terrorist organisation and harms Israel. Within minutes, such an act is filmed, circulated, and understood in one way only: contempt for religion. The result is immediate: condemnation, distancing, and the erosion of support in precisely the arena where Israel cannot afford to open another front. That is why Israel acted without delay: punishment, removal from combat duties, and replacement of the statue. That was the required response, because the state’s first principles are clear.

Israel’s Declaration of Independence [1] states that the country “will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion” and “will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture”. It also commits the state to safeguarding the holy places of all religions. The Spirit of the IDF [2] anchors human dignity, statehood, and purity of arms, meaning the use of force only to the extent required. Anyone who desecrates a religious symbol is not acting in the name of the IDF. He is acting against its foundations.

The same principle applied in the case of Elor Azaria. In 2016, at the height of a wave of stabbing attacks, an IDF soldier shot a wounded and neutralised attacker lying on the ground in Hebron, minutes after he had ceased to pose a threat. The incident was recorded and immediately became an international matter. A military court convicted Azaria after ruling that there had been no immediate danger. This was a test, and Israel met it. It enforced the law through a sovereign legal system in order to protect the IDF and draw a clear line. In any army, discipline is a condition of victory. Punishment is not vengeance. It is a directive for the future, internal deterrence, and external proof that Israel remains governed by the rule of law even under fire.

The legal significance of this is not theoretical. The International Criminal Court in The Hague operates on the principle of complementarity: a state that investigates itself also protects itself, while a state that does not exposes itself. That is why the independence of Israel’s judicial system is a clear security interest. Any attempt to undermine it, intimidate it, or empty it of substance weakens the protective layer shielding commanders, soldiers, and political leaders.

The public statements made by Rabbi Zarbiv sharpen the same point. When a rabbinical judge and reserve serviceman publicly calls for the “flattening” of Gaza, he provides the enemy with a ready summary: this is how Israel thinks. Those words are translated, circulated, and presented as evidence. The language of eradication is not the language of a state. It is ammunition for the enemy. It feeds a hostile narrative and gives it an appearance of legitimacy. This is not the language of the State of Israel. Its Declaration of Independence and the Spirit of the IDF state otherwise.

The events at Sde Teiman are not merely an internal matter either. Following suspicions of improper conduct toward Palestinian detainees from Gaza who were held there, the Military Police opened an investigation. When investigators arrived, protesters broke into the base in an attempt to prevent it. This, too, was a test. A state investigates itself even in wartime. Anyone who attempts to obstruct such an investigation is not protecting soldiers. He is harming them, and harming the very system meant to protect them.

The enemy operates on every front. Not only through fire, but also through perception and law. Its objective is singular: to undermine legitimacy, isolate, and stain. Every deviation on our part, the desecration of a symbol, the language of eradication, pressure on the legal system, is immediately converted into an asset for the enemy.

Israel is not required to choose between force and law. Law is a condition of force. The IDF operates under command, under discipline, and on the basis of values. The Declaration of Independence sets the direction. The legal system ensures that the state remains on that course. That is how victory is secured. Not otherwise.

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[1] Provisional Government of Israel, “Declaration of Independence”, May 14, 1948, The Knesset.

[2] Israel Defense Forces, “Ruach Tzahal (Spirit of the IDF): Code of Ethics”, Jewish Virtual Library.

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Originally published in Hebrew in Maariv on April 23, 2026, under the title “סיוע לאויב בשעת מלחמה”.