Publications

The public discourse during Operation Protective Edge (2014) reflected a higher degree of willingness to accept military casualties than it had during previous wars or operations, particularly the Second Lebanon War (2006). In this article, I seek to clarify the prevailing argument regarding Israeli society’s greater willingness to accept military deaths, and to show that this argument should not be accepted at face value. My argument is that casualty sensitivity exists, but it is more complex than it appears to be and is also affected by changing circumstances. When the military operation is swift, intensive, and perceived as successful – as epitomized by Operation Protective Edge – and the sacrifice made by the more affluent social groups is few and even justified in terms of voluntary choice, military death can be more easily justified and does not arouse substantial opposition.