{"id":11375,"date":"2018-08-24T23:09:39","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T23:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/?p=11375"},"modified":"2018-08-24T23:09:39","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T23:09:39","slug":"a-modern-army-what-can-ukraine-borrow-from-israels-experience-ws6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/a-modern-army-what-can-ukraine-borrow-from-israels-experience-ws6\/","title":{"rendered":"A modern army: What can Ukraine borrow from Israel\u2019s experience? (WS6)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/WS6_Main.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-11382\" src=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/WS6_Main-1024x617.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"860\" height=\"518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/WS6_Main-1024x617.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/WS6_Main-500x301.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/WS6_Main.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>How did Israel succeed in creating one of the most combat-ready and innovative armies in the world? How can Ukraine apply Israel\u2019s experience to the reform of its armed forces? These and other questions were discussed during Session No. 6, headlined \u201cDefense and Innovation: Israel\u2019s Experience,\u201d which took place at the conference \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/israels-experience-of-nation-building-lessons-for-ukraine\/\">Israel\u2019s Experience of Nation Building: Lessons for Ukraine<\/a>\u201d on 12 June 2018, organized jointly by the New Europe Center and the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter. We invite you to read the speakers\u2019 main points, below.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Yaakov-Amidror.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-11384 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Yaakov-Amidror-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>Yaakov Amidror, Major-General, head of Israel\u2019s National Security Council (2011\u20132013)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0861a6;\">The foundation of the Israeli startup-society became people who acquired high-quality knowledge that they applied later during their army service:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cFrom the very beginning it was understood that Israel needed powerful weapons and an industry that would satisfy our special needs. It was also understood that as long as we ourselves were not capable of developing something, no one would help us, including the West. Technologies were needed to cope with external threats. And during the war of 1973 that small fleet that we had was fully equipped with Israeli technologies. However, after 1973 we realized that the army needs qualitative changes. Since military service in Israel is compulsory, every year we began selecting the most talented youths (after carrying out the appropriate testing) who were graduating from schools and sent them to study such fields that we considered top-priority: technology, IT, and intelligence gathering. The studies generally lasted three years, after which the soldiers were divided by specialty, and they served for six years. This project was successful because these young men became true professionals and were able to make high-quality decisions regarding certain problems. This was to the advantage of both the army and the economy (since this project did not require a great financial outlay).\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cFurthermore, after a few years we also saw positive results for society in general. Changes within micro-systems had an impact on the entire ecosystem. After their army service these talented and experienced youths, who felt a great sense of responsibility, produced and implemented creative ideas, and were able not only to identify the problem, but also to find a solution. Later these people founded new business projects.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0861a6;\">The state\u2019s help in introducing innovations is important only at the outset; later, civic society is actively enlisted.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cIn the process of forming the startup-society the government\u2019s financial assistance was important only at the outset. Then the system was able to work autonomously. For example, the educated people mentioned above developed one of the best cyber security systems for state institutions. In other words, the government\u2019s initial task lies in providing encouragement, and later the open society and competition continue this work and foster new ideas in the marketplace.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cTo summarize, the components underpinning the formation of Israel\u2019s innovative society are the following: the experience of military service (in fact, the army may be considered the \u201cmother\u201d and \u201cfather\u201d of innovations); the government\u2019s encouragement; and, finally, competition, which concluded the work.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0861a6;\">Corruption is endemic to any society. However, its scale depends on the strength of the legal system.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cIf you ask whether there are corrupt officials in Israel, the answer will be, \u2018Of course.\u2019 This is typical of everyone, including European societies, because the tendency toward corruption is characteristic of every human being. So, the question is not whether there are corrupt people in society but how strong are the police and the legal system that can prosecute them, and how independent a given court is in order to mete out punishment to them in the form of depriving them of freedom. For example, in Israel the son of David Ben-Gurion, one of the founders of the State of Israel, was convicted of corruption.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Archil-Tsintsadze.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-11376 size-thumbnail\" src=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Archil-Tsintsadze-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Archil-Tsintsadze-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Archil-Tsintsadze-589x440.jpg 589w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a>Archil Tsintsadze, advisor to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense of Ukraine <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0861a6;\">The Soviet system of organization still exists within the Ukrainian armed forces.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThe Soviet legacy in the organization of the army and, correspondingly, the greater orientation on its quantitative rather than technical improvement is still a pressing issue in Ukraine. If you do a comparison, the Israeli soldier right now is ten times better trained than his Ukrainian counterpart. Funds are needed to improve the Ukrainian army. That\u2019s why Israel\u2019s experience is interesting in terms of where to acquire the financial capability for investments in the sphere of defense.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Denys-Hurak.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-11378 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/media\/Denys-Hurak-400x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>Denys Hurak, Deputy Director of External Operations of Ukroboronprom (2014\u20132018) <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0861a6;\">Compared to the Israeli defense sphere, Ukraine lacks a proper strategy and political will.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cDespite the fact that in critical moments\u2014the Maidan, the war in eastern Ukraine\u2014Ukrainian society has demonstrated extraordinary unity, on certain questions, particularly the need for significant changes, our society is disunited. This pertains especially to the governing elites. Israel\u2019s experience can be beneficial in showing us how to change social mentality and, accordingly, how to overcome corruption in the military sphere.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0861a6;\">Ukraine\u2019s cooperation with NATO and the U.S. with a view to pushing Russia out of international arms markets may help attract investments to Ukraine and speed up its entry into the North Atlantic alliance.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cThe opportunity to push Russia out of international arms markets exists; it has always existed. We should make this our top state priority. Russia traditionally uses two geopolitical means of influence: the export of oil and the export of arms. Stopping this export is in the interests of NATO and the U.S. It would be illogical for Ukraine not to become part of the process of maintaining this interest. Officially, on the state level, documents are being drafted and the proper work is being done. And this should become a social priority. As soon as we start working in this direction, investments will come to Ukraine in the form of strategic Western defense companies. We will obtain a level of support that will permit Ukraine to join NATO within a short period of time. The large Ukrainian army, which has extraordinary combat experience, will help create a balance of power in Eastern Europe, something that Poland, with the help of the Baltic countries and the U.S., has not been able to do so far.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZhOpxFFdO5Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5><em>Translated from the Ukrainian by Marta D. Olynyk.<br \/>\nEdited by Peter Bejger. <\/em><\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How did Israel succeed in creating one of the most combat-ready and innovative armies in the world? How can Ukraine apply Israel\u2019s experience to the reform of its armed forces? These and other questions were...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,19,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israels-experience-of-nation-building-lessons-for-ukraine","category-uje-initiatives","category-symposia","primary-category-19","primary-category-uje-initiatives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11375"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11387,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11375\/revisions\/11387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrainianjewishencounter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}