Shooting and crying

Gil Hochberg described "shooting and crying" as the soldier being "“Sorry for things I had to do.” This “non-apologetic apology” was the model of self-critique advanced in Israel in many politically reflective works of literature and cinema. […] a way of maintaining the nation’s self-image as youthful and innocent, along with its sense of vocation against the reality of war, growing military violence, occupation, invasion, and an overall sense that things were going wrong."[7]

Sarah Benton termed it "an act through which the soldier clears his conscience (at least somewhat), without taking personal responsibility or any practical steps, either to prevent “inappropriate behaviour by soldiers in the field” as it occurs, or to redress injustice and prosecute criminals later."[8]

Karen Grumberg wrote that "the Zionist solider, a man with a conscience, loathes violence but realises he must act violently to survive; the dilemma causes him to weep while pulling the trigger. Looking inward, he despairs at the violence he feels compelled to enact primarily because he fears his own moral corruption."[9]

Amir Vodka wrote that "It typically depicts the IDF in a critical light, as a traumatizer of young soldiers, yet the genre itself is often criticized for turning the assailants into victims, and in a sense allowing the continuation of war under the guise of self-victimization."[10]

• Military psychology
• Killings and massacres during the 1948 Palestine war
• Sabra and Shatila massacre
• Allegations of war crimes in the 2006 Lebanon War
• United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict