ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the type of military roles and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hierarchy attached to soldiers as protagonists in the Israeli drama. The dramatic arts heralded social reality. Consequently, efforts at establishing a well-defined identity, or "character," are a source of overwhelming tension that strongly impacts in turn on artistic endeavors. Given their special place in the social fabric of Israel, particularly is this so when the portrait is of IDF soldiers. Israeli cinema offered the most meaningful response to the 1967 and 1973 Wars and to the new reality of military occupation over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The Israeli soldier's dramatic presence is forever changing in response to the country's cultural, political and ideological mood shifts. The chapter traces distrust of military and political decision-making, accompanied by the undermining of old myths and values, may seem an inevitable outcome of the longer-term process.
