I am an evangelical Christian woman born and raised in America. I am married to a Christian man who previously served in the United States Air Force. Most of the people who meet my husband thank him for his military service. There is an understanding that he gave his life in service to his country, and in service to others.

While the American military is not perfect (no person aside from Jesus Christ is perfect, nor is any group or organization), the United States has a moral military. Its creeds include “integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do.” As Americans, these words mean something to us. Their mission and value carry a responsibility, as they represent us as Americans.

While the US military will always have critics, it is almost unfathomable for people to accuse the US military branches of genocide. People disagree with us going into Iraq. People criticize our going into Afghanistan. And I was certainly critical of how we got out of Afghanistan. But critiquing is different than accusing, and disagreeing is different than demonizing. While there is always room for disagreement on foreign policy, wars, and involvement, we trust that the US military (and those who lead it) are carrying out their creeds and mission with the utmost integrity, equity, and fairness.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is another moral military. It is a moral military who is defending its country’s sovereign borders and right to exist. They will make mistakes, they will make decisions we might not agree with, but they are guided by values and ethics that are ones we as Americans believe in too. Yet they receive more criticism, hatred, and name calling than any other military on earth.

What Is the Purpose of the IDF?

The Israel Defense Forces is named properly, because it does just that: its forces defend Israel. While there are twenty-two Arab countries, Israel, which could fit inside Lake Michigan, remains the only Jewish country in the world, and it is surrounded by nations intent on its destruction. That is why the Israel Defense Forces came into existence—to protect its people from enemies set on the nation’s destruction: “On May 26, 1948, the Israel Defense Forces officially began acting as Israel’s sole, unified military organization charged with protecting the territory and citizens of the two-week-old state. The birth of the IDF came at a time when the entire country was at war for its very survival.”[1]

The IDF Values Human Dignity

Human dignity is one of the IDF’s four fundamental values: “The IDF and our soldiers are obligated to protect human dignity. Every individual is of inherent value, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender or status.”[2]

Groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, and Islamic Jihad do not value human life. On the contrary, these groups and ideologies call for violence against Israel and the Jewish people.[3] These two groups, the IDF and terrorist militias, are not the same.

The IDF values the sanctity of human life and thus strives to minimize civilian casualties. Some even make the argument that the IDF is the world’s most moral military due to the extraordinary efforts they make to protect human life, even at the expense of their own mission’s success.

For example, since Hamas deliberately embeds itself within the civilian population—operating its terrorist infrastructure and weapons from schools, hospitals, and religious buildings—the IDF warns civilians ahead of time before attacks on these areas, even to its own detriment. As one British army colonel reported on Israel’s measures in Gaza, “Never in the history of warfare has an army phoned their enemy and told them where they were going to drop their bombs.”[4] The IDF makes tens of thousands of phone calls, drops thousands of leaflets written in Arabic, broadcasts radio messages, and sends text messages warning civilians to flee areas where it is going to strike.[5] Contrast this with Hamas, who mercilessly slaughtered innocent Israeli lives—including babies, children, and the elderly—while they were at home in their beds,[6] and repeatedly puts its own civilians’ lives at risk by using them as human shields, a war crime according to international law.

You can, and should, have high standards for militaries. A moral military, like the IDF, accepts responsibility when they make mistakes. But mistakes are not war crimes.[7]

How are so many Americans chanting “by whatever means necessary” and “Globalize the Intifada,” phrases calling for aggressive resistance against Israel, and aligning themselves with terrorist proxies more than supporting Israel and the IDF? It is right to stand with a country who is protecting the lives of innocent civilians, both Israelis and Palestinians.[8] Instead, many of my peers are believing Hamas talking points and mistaking the victims as the aggressor.

The IDF Defends Israel and Protects Civilians

The IDF is defending Israel and its right to exist, not seeking to destroy Arabs, Palestinians, or people who disagree with them. The IDF exists “for the sake of defending the State of Israel and its civilians.”[9] Many men and women in the IDF are descendants of those who survived the Holocaust, and the remaining Holocaust survivors are protected because of Israel and the IDF. This is one of many reasons the IDF is so important. The Jewish people must have a safe place to live and thrive so we do not have another Holocaust.

We do not criticize Ukraine for defending themselves against Russia. We do not criticize US troops as they defend our country. Why are we unjustly criticizing the IDF at every turn?

Article 51 in the UN Charter states that an individual or collective has a right to self-defense if an armed attack occurs.[10] Yet the UN itself scrutinizes Israel more than any other country. The double standard is evident, and the reason behind it is antisemitism.

The IDF Is Committed to Diversity and Freedom

The IDF includes both men and women from many different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

While many women are seeking equal rights throughout the Middle East, Israel and the IDF empower women. Israeli women, just like men, are required to serve in the IDF. The IDF has mandatory service requirements for Israeli Jewish, Druze, and Circassian citizens as well as voluntary enlistment opportunities for other Israeli Arabs. Many Muslims, especially Bedouin Muslims, serve in the IDF, [11] as well as Christians and Messianic Jews. I have met several Messianic believers in Jesus in the IDF who are heartbroken at the unfair criticism they receive from American Christians.

The IDF is committed to religious pluralism and religious liberty, unlike militant Islam. Is this not in line with us as Americans? As one retired Israeli colonel put it, “One of Israel’s values is respect for diversity and religious pluralism. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is working hard to make itself an institution that embodies those ideals, while operating under public scrutiny.”[12]

Hundreds of ethnic minorities enlist in the IDF every year,[13] and Israel values them just as must as it does its Jewish soldiers. Earlier this year, the IDF rescued a Bedouin hostage who was held by Hamas in Gaza.[14]Israel also went to great lengths to retrieve the body of a Thai hostage in Gaza. Thais were the “largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants.”[15] Because to an Israeli, everyone belongs. Yet to Israel’s enemies, none of us belong.

Closing

 Recently, a British musician was caught shouting, “Death, death to the IDF” at a music festival, of all places, while the crowd joined along.[16]

Ask yourself, why was this acceptable?

There is no moral equivalence between the IDF and those who set out to destroy Israel. The IDF, just like our American forces, operate with a Judeo-Christian worldview and have a fundamental regard for human life.

Could you imagine militia groups saying, “Death, death to the US troops!”? Can you imagine going along with chants that the United States has no right to exist? How would you feel if those around you accused American armed forces, some of which are in your own family, of genocide?

There is a saying that if Israel’s enemies put their weapons down, there would be no more violence. Simultaneously, if the IDF puts their weapons down and ceased to protect Israel, Israel would no longer exist.

The military actions of the United States and Israel will never be perfect, but they share a common morality that upholds the value of human life. You can disagree with Israel’s government, you can critique their decisions, but you cannot morally equate them to the terrorist militias that seek to destroy Israeli lives every day.

Americans have the right to defend themselves just like Israelis have a right to defend themselves. And they have a right to do so without being demonized.

Am Israel chai (“the people of Israel live”).

Also published on Chosen People Ministries.