Military service

Pareto vs the IDF: Does sociology determine army service? - opinion

We must remember that in any society, different groups will contribute in different ways. To aim for a forced “equality of service” is insensible.

IDF SOLDIERS operating in the Gaza Strip.
President Isaac Herzog receives the first-ever Ambassador of Somaliland to Israel, Mohamed Hagi, in his residence last month.

Somaliland Defense Minister says IDF will not establish presence in their country

Haredim block a road and clash with police to protest the jailing of seminary students who fail to comply with IDF recruitment orders, June 1.

Torah study and Israeli military service are both sacred, but not the same - opinion

HAREDI MEN protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an IDF draft order, in May 2026.

The price tag of opting out of the IDF - opinion


Her life on the home front: How war is reshaping life for Israel’s wives and mothers

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS: Eliana reflects a familiar reality for many women in Israel: Emotional yet composed, missing a husband deeply while fully aware he has a job to do, and proud that he is doing it.

AT THE threshold of their home, Eliana stands with her child as her husband heads out again – part of a generation of Israeli families for whom departures, not returns, have come to define the passage of time.

Housing for lone soldiers is essential to Israel’s wartime resilience - opinion

Housing for lone soldiers is more than shelter; it provides stability, community, and the support needed to endure wartime service.

 Over 150 lone soldiers join the IDF through Garin Tzabar Scouts program.

The haredim do not have a credible argument for avoiding IDF service - opinion

Israel cannot sustain a system where one segment of society fights, pays taxes, and bleeds, while another group is draining the societys resorces without contributing in return.

 A group of ultra-Orthodox Jews blocked traffic and the light rail  in Jerusalem demonstrating against a Haredi draft into the IDF. February 26, 2024.

IDF observers forced to endure harassment, poor conditions - report

Lack of sleep, according to the report, is the biggest problem that the observers, who are predominantly women, currently face.

A soldier from the IDF observers unit; illustrative.

Israel Katz publishes IDF chief's letter warning of manpower shortage amid haredi draft debate

Zamir sent the letter after attacks on the government for failing to push for haredim to draft into the IDF in large numbers.

 Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir. March 25, 2025.

Israeli musician Eyal Zakai reflects on Gaza service, song written dedicated to fallen soldier

During one deployment, Zakai learned that a close childhood friend had been killed in combat roughly a kilometer away from his unit.

Israeli musician Eyal Zakai reflects on Gaza service, song written dedicated to fallen soldier.

IDF should conscript Arabs to serve instead of haredi draft dodgers - opinion

The demographic potential of Muslim Arab men aged 18 stands at over 12,500 young men per year – a figure equivalent to the enlistment potential of haredi men.

HAREDIM BLOCK a road to protest the arrest of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, near Bnei Brak, on Monday.

'Why did you bring me here?': Panel of olim discuss 'accidental' aliyah

Who pays the price of aliyah? Some 'accidental olim' - children who made aliyah not by choice, but by circumstance - share their experiences.

Shifra Jacobs and her beloved late dog Lexi.

The right to vote should not depend on IDF service - opinion

Voting is not a privilege to be earned; it is a fundamental right of citizenship. 

Israel heads to another round of elections on November 1.

High Court: Haredi students with unsettled military status won't get national insurance discounts

Yeshiva students who have not settled their status with the military or procured a valid exemption will not be eligible for relevant discounts on national insurance.

 Haredim protest against the IDF draft outside Tel Hashomer recruitment base, April 28. 2025.