Faith Under Fire: How Religion Shaped Ofer Winter's Military Identity

Religion has been a visible part of Ofer Winter's identity throughout his military career.

Raised in a religious environment, Winter studied at the Or Etzion military boarding school and later attended the Bnei David pre-military academy, an institution closely associated with religious Zionism and military service.

For Winter, Jewish tradition and military service were not presented as competing commitments. He has publicly described his religious convictions as a source of strength and guidance.

That relationship became a national controversy during Israel's 2014 war in Gaza.

As commander of the Givati Brigade, Winter circulated a letter to his soldiers that invoked religious language and framed the military mission in explicitly Jewish terms.

For supporters, the letter reflected a deeply held worldview and a commander's attempt to inspire soldiers facing a dangerous operation.

For critics, it raised questions about the proper place of religious expression within the IDF, an institution whose personnel include religious and secular Jews, Druze, Christians and members of other communities.

The controversy made Winter a recognizable figure in debates about religion and military authority.

It also revealed a tension that has long shaped Israeli public life: the relationship between the Jewish identity of the state and the pluralistic obligations of its national institutions.

Winter continued his military career after the controversy, eventually reaching the rank of brigadier general.

His political entry in 2026 brought those questions into a new setting.

Amcha Yisrael's platform emphasizes Jewish and Zionist identity alongside military service, national security and a stronger role for citizens who contribute to the state's defense.

Yet the party's candidate list also includes Yoseph Haddad, an Arab-Israeli Christian and wounded IDF veteran who has become a prominent public advocate for Israel.

Haddad's inclusion illustrates an attempt to define political belonging partly through civic identification and military service, even as the party promotes a distinctly Jewish national outlook.

That combination raises questions about the boundaries of political inclusion.

How does a party emphasizing Jewish national identity address the status of non-Jewish citizens? What role should religious values play in public policy? How can a leader shaped by faith represent citizens who hold different beliefs?

For Winter, faith has remained an enduring part of his public identity.

His political career places that identity within a democratic arena where religious conviction must coexist with the rights, interests and disagreements of a wider electorate.