General Staff forum at Yad Vashem
General Staff forum at Yad VashemIDF Spokesperson

In preparation for Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes' Remembrance Day, the IDF Education Corps distributed a booklet to IDF commanders, including, among other things, "the educational conception of Holocaust remembrance" as understood by the Education Corps.

Reading the fascinating and disturbing document shows that the IDF teaches its soldiers that the Holocaust could take place tomorrow morning, in Israel in 2018, if we do not maintain moral boundaries, or if, Heaven forbid, we harm the system of checks and balances of the rule of law.

"The Holocaust is a conspicuous warning sign facing every society about the place to which it can deteriorate without setting clear moral boundaries and respect for every human being," it says.

And that’s not all. The IDF Education Corps claims that the "deterioration of the rule of law and the erosion of democracy" are what led to the destruction of the six million Jews in the Holocaust. No less.

So if you wondered what the lesson that IDF commanders and soldiers should learn from the Holocaust is, it is not about making the army stronger. According to the Education Corps, we need to maintain a system of checks and balances, because only then will the Jewish people not be in danger of annihilation.