העקרונות האתיים של ערך הממלכתיות בצה"ל

All of Israel’s security forces take into account the value of state consciousness. As defined by Nir Kedar, state consciousness refers to society’s ability to construct a civilized sovereign polity based on respect for democracy, law, and civic values. In 2022, the IDF declared state consciousness as one of its core values. In recent years, owing to the growing influence of various social sectors as well as various controversies over its image and character, the IDF has explored the inclusion of state consciousness as one of its basic values, a proposal ultimately approved in July 2022. This article describes the processes that have influenced the concept of state consciousness in the military from the establishment of the State of Israel to the present day. It discusses the principles associated with the value of state consciousness and their significance for all IDF servicemen, including authority, the IDF as the people’s army, integrity, representativeness, and actions governed by the IDF code of ethics.