When Israelis meet each other for the first time, one of the questions they ask each other will undoubtedly be, “Where did you serve?” These popular Israeli shows reflect various aspects of Israeli society's relationships with their mandatory military service.
Even before the formation of the State of Israel, the leadership agreed that the army should be “The People's Army”. The entire nation would have a role in creating her military force, and its future role would not only be to defend the country from enemies, but to serve as a nation and leadership builder. The formation of the Israeli army epitomized the new, anti-diaspora Jews, in charge of their own destiny. The IDF soldier would be a moral Hebrew warrior, with one hand fighting the Jewish wars and the other hand building the Jewish state. The result of this early decision is a close, and at times symbiotic, relationship between the army and the society at-large.
The Israeli intelligence community, which is made up of Aman (military intelligence), Mossad (overseas intelligence), and Shabak (internal security), represents a similar relationship with society, with an added mystique and lore that is widely celebrated.