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Why IDF soldiers’ official headshots only show their backs

JL;DR SUMMARY The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has adopted the unusual practice of displaying official headshots of its service members showing only the backs of their heads. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Social MediaIsrael Defense ForcesInternational LawGaza ConflictWar CrimesSecurityGlobal PerceptionUniversal JurisdictionMilitary IdentityLegal Risks

Places mentioned

Israel
"Israeli soldiers face risk of prosecution under universal jurisdiction, a legal principle that allows countries to prosecute individuals for international crimes considered so severe that no state should be a safe haven."
Brazil
"In January, a former Israeli soldier vacationing in Brazil had his trip cut short after a federal judge opened a war crimes investigation for his alleged participation in the demolition of civilian homes in Gaza, based partly on his social media posts."
Belgium
"In July, Belgian police took two IDF service members who were attending a music festival in for questioning related to allegations of violating international law in Gaza. They were released shortly afterward."
South Africa
"For example, South Africa has threatened to arrest dual citizens who serve in the IDF when they return home irrespective of whether the service member has specifically been accused of war crimes."
Turkey
"That message was echoed by Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, told Anadolu, the Turkish state-run news agency."
Washington, D.C., Washington DC, United States
"Originally from the Washington, D.C., area, she is a 2023 graduate of Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism."
Burlington, Vermont, United States
"Hannah Feuer joined the Forward as a general assignment reporter in May 2025 after two years as a culture reporter at Seven Days, an independent weekly in Burlington, Vermont."

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This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 69070
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-12-04 05:30:46 UTC
Curated 2025-12-04 08:32:36 UTC