"To understand Israel, you must first understand its army David Ben-Gurion, founder and first prime minister of the State of Israel, established that force in 1948 convinced that the 'whole nation is the army'. To his mind, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) would be an army like no other - not merely an instrument of military might but the institution that would transform a diverse, mostly immigrant population into a nation. Haim Bresheeth-Zabner, a writer, academic and Israeli peace activist, charts the evolution of the IDF from the days of the Nakba, through conflicts with Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq, to its ongoing assaults on the vulnerable Palestinian population, culminating in the continuing attacks on Gaza. As he shows, the IDF has been the largest, richest and most influential institution in Israel's Jewish society and the Alma Mater of its social, economic, and political ruling class. Today, it is embedded in all aspects of daily life and identity in Israel, including the vast military-industrial complex that drives the national economy. An Army like No Other is an unflinching exploration of the war-driven origins of the Israeli state as well as the on-going story of Israeli militarism."--