The Claim for Moral Maturity, Consistency, and Integrity Among Objecting Israeli Soldiers

The paper presents two groups of objecting Israeli reserve soldiers who chose to resolve their dilemmas with the morally controversial war in Lebanon (1982–1985) in line with two different morally preferred actions. These soldiers either refused to join their unit on its assigned mission in Lebanon and paid the price of court martial and imprisonment, or chose to continue their military service but made extra sacrifices to preserve their moral principles on the battlefield, as well as voiced their objection via a protest group. The relationship between the objectors' hypothetical and actual moral knowledge is discussed.