Zen and the Art of Tactical Felonizing of the Digger Operator

A holocaust is unfolding in Gaza, a holocaust of our own making. For nearly two years we’ve bombed from the air daily, maneuvered and fired on the ground, leaving no stone unturned. Whatever managed to remain standing by chance, we’re now flattening with heavy machinery.

And in Israel, most people still don’t believe it. “That can’t be,” say those who refuse to see. “Did someone really order everyone killed? Did someone command the destruction for conquest and settlement? Of course not. That’s nonsense. We don’t do things like that.”

But anyone who gave a few years to the army knows how things “work out” in the IDF—how we get around things, cuts corners, with equipment, with orders, in the field. Shuki Ben Naim describes exactly what we can all recognize, because that’s just how it happens: the permeation of command mindset and the banality of destruction.

Ayala Shalev, Editor, That’s About Us

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Zen and the Art of Tactical Felonizing

of the Digger Operator / Shuki Ben Naim

A screenwriter friend messaged me privately:

“I have a friend who was in Gaza and says it’s not genocide, but rather reckless killing at best, the lesser evil.”

He went on to say that what’s happening there isn’t the result of a top-down decision. It’s more a case of ‘everyone does what they see fit.’ There’s a breakdown of hierarchy and discipline, so naturally, there’s room for creative personal expression.

Let’s examine for a moment the claim that there’s no high rank decision:

Say you’re a Digger or D9 driver, and your job is to demolish buildings that have been “felonized” for “tactical” reasons. The thing about urban warfare is that every shack, every balcony, every rooftop can be considered a tactical asset for the enemy – whether it’s been used or might be used – so it’s really not hard to felonize a structure as a “current or future tactical asset.”

According to the “no decision from above” hypothesis, at least officially, the IDF instructs soldiers in the field to make informed “tactical” decisions about felonizing buildings to prevent unnecessary destruction. Officially, there are rigid and clear tactical and legal criteria for declaring a home as a target.

But the Digger operator isn’t interested in tactics. He thinks all that tactical talk is nonsense; in the end, it’s decided by whoever’s got their boot on the ground. He wants to “erase Gaza” as revenge, to pave the way for expulsion and settlement. He has no problem saying this out loud, he’s not the only one who thinks that, and sometimes, depending on the unit, he’s not even in the minority. Still, he knows the IDF gets annoyed if things aren’t done “by the tactical book.” Professionalism is a value, after all. So he makes sure to route his urge to “erase Gaza” through tactical justifications like “depriving the enemy of the built environment” or whatever. No need to cause trouble – he gets what he wants, and the system isn’t bothered. So, no, they don’t let him destroy everything. Fine, no need to be greedy.

But as time passes, with the army’s discipline and oversight wearing down at the field level, the Digger operator finds himself the sole, ultimate interpreter of what counts as “felonized” and “tactical.” The army doesn’t have the time or will to “critically review” his generous interpretation of these terms, especially after the buildings are already gone. They’re certainly not going to be marching him off to The Hague for that. After all, they are under staffed and they need this guy, every Digger operator is worth their weight in gold. Over time, his “tactical” justifications get flimsier and more far-fetched, because he’s not really after tactics – he’s just looking for an excuse to “erase Gaza.”

If you served in the IDF, you have to admit this sounds like a reasonable, realistic explanation, right? You probably remember there’s always a gap between what you’re ordered to do and what you actually do – because the army is inflexible and dumb, and the real trick is to find that sweet spot where nobody’s breathing down your neck so you can do what you want. That’s the perfect setup. You want to erase Gaza, bro? Go be a Digger operator. Don’t worry, no one’s going to micromanage you, they need you, only someone crazy would volunteer for that job. Digger operators are a tribe, bro. Just don’t forget to throw out some tactical excuse. Purely for the paperwork, bro.

And so, through lack of discipline and oversight, the “tactical” action of “depriving the enemy of the built environment” turns into the systematic erasure of Gaza as a space where people can live.

So, this is the “no top-down decision or control” hypothesis.

But there’s just one problem with this hypothesis: The IDF doesn’t pay Digger by the time they serve in the reserves; they pay them by the number of buildings they demolish. “They’re incentivized by output,” as the economists say.

If you didn’t know, everyone running the IDF now served in the IDF just like you. You think they don’t know Digger operators are a tribe, bro? A tribe with an urge to erase Gaza? You could say – the IDF has no choice – it needs them tactically, it knows it’s hard to micro-manage them from afar.

But if the army really cares about tactics and recognizes its control problem, why would it give Digger operators extra financial incentives to erase Gaza with money, its most effective tool of control? The Digger operators would do it for free, bro!

Could it be that this so-called “lack of control on the ground” isn’t a bug, but a feature? Maybe, like a crime organization, the IDF – on its consigliere’s advice – deliberately creates distance from its tactical felonizers in the field in order to tactically avoid being implicated?

Could “depriving the enemy of the built environment” and “erasing Gaza” actually be one and the same?

Surely you remember how things work. Like when the quartermaster had you sign for “stuff for the APC” – it cracked you up because the official name had nothing to do with how you actually called it. What do you mean “stuff”, bro? It’s a sledgehammer!

In the same way it’s funny seeing “depriving the enemy of the built environment” in an operational order.

What do you mean “depriving built environment”, bro? Erase Gaza!

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Shuki Ben Naim is a screenwriter living in Jerusalem.