Penetrating the Shields of Institutional Immunity: The Political Dynamic of Bereavement in Israel

Abstract

To understand and overcome the tendency of public organizations to conceal information, this article analyses the dynamic interaction between a new social movement and the Israeli defence establishment. The study shows how parents whose children were killed in training and operational accidents while serving in the military form social movements to force the latter to release information concerning these accidents. In doing so parents define personal tragedy as a social problem and use the various public arenas – cultural, media, legal, political and social – to bypass barriers imposed by the army and to bring about organizational changes within the army.