Altruism, kibbutz and sacrificing

We present a unique psycho-social phenomenon, the conscious willingness to contribute to society by way of volunteering to serve in the IDF’s spearhead units despite constant risks involved in arduous training and, importantly, in facing enemies. Research population draws on generations of kibbutz-born youngsters who opted for IDF’s elite units. We argue that prosocial behaviour, notably altruism, provides solid theoretical grounds explaining the phenomenon. Findings show that kibbutzniks fell in battle up to 30 times more than their ratio in the Israeli population.