With the recently signed ceasefire tempering hostilities between Israel and Hamas, I decided to share some thoughts this week about organizations and experiences in Israel that helped broaden my perspective about Israeli society, its relationship to its neighbors, and hopes for the future.

One of my most illuminating experiences in Israel came when my classmates from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) and I were paired with a local IDF unit for shared tours across Israel, including a live fire training exercise and meetings with high-ranking military officers. The firsthand look into IDF culture, procedures, and activities proved enlightening—and I think the IDF soldiers enjoyed having an American veteran along for the ride.

Perhaps most revealing and inspiring was a conversation we enjoyed with a retired IDF lieutenant general. He confronted the soldiers and students with a dilemma from his time commanding security operations in the West Bank.

After a surprise attack upon one of his patrols in an urban center wounded two soldiers, his patrol returned fire, injuring two militants. However, before the patrol could capture the militants, an entire platoon of militants emerged, leaving the patrol engaged in a standoff with the wounded Palestinian militants stuck in the middle. The patrol leader identified two options: withdraw, allowing the militants to rescue and treat their wounded while minimizing the risk of further civilian and combatant casualties, or attack, sending a message that attacks upon IDF units would not be tolerated, but risking additional combatant and civilian casualties. He was awaiting the general’s orders.

A vocal minority among the IDF soldiers argued for the second option, reasoning that the militants needed to learn firsthand that attacks upon IDF units would be met with force. However, most students and soldiers alike felt that, absent the likelihood of gathering significant intelligence, the proper course of action was to minimize further casualties. The general ultimately revealed that he ordered withdrawal, warning the assembled soldiers and students that respect for life—the lives of IDF soldiers, Palestinian and Israeli civilians, as well as enemy combatants—must inform all command decisions, not only because of the message it sends to Israel’s enemies or critics, but because of the message it sends to IDF soldiers and Israeli society about who Israel is and what it stands for.

I remain grateful to the general for sharing his perspective with vulnerability and empathy, as well as his insights into the importance of the examples we create with each tactical decision.

This partnership between the IDF and American rabbinic students was created as part of the Richard J. Scheuer Israel Seminar of HUC-JIR. Support for these invaluable partnerships and others like them may be given here: https://donate.huc.edu/annualfund.

— Rabbi Josh Knobel