Military service

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

Public backlash over proposed legislation reflects a broader struggle over how Israel defines service, sacrifice and equality.

|ByMICHAEL FREUND
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.
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

Switzerland has long maintained that citizens who do not serve in the military pay a special compensatory tax to the state.

|ByOZ BIN NUN
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.

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.

|ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
Over 150 lone soldiers join the IDF through Garin Tzabar Scouts program.

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.

|ByLIORA RUBINSTEIN

Israel on its way to temporarily extending mandatory IDF service

Knesset extends IDF service to 36 months temporarily, sparking debate over fairness and military readiness amid financial concerns and opposition.

JULY 18, 2024ByYAKI ADAMKER
An IDF soldier is seen wearing a Jewish tzitzit while carrying a weapon in Jerusalem, May 13, 2024

Gov't greenlights bill to extend IDF mandatory service to three years

The bill was delayed over legal and social concerns that it unequally increased the burden of military service on some groups while leaving others exempt.

JULY 14, 2024ByELIAV BREUER
An IDF soldier is seen praying.

How Ben-Gurion's pragmatic decision led to haredim draft exemption - analysis

David Ben-Gurion's 1948 decision not to draft yeshiva students shaped Israel's policy, sparking decades of debate on military exemptions amid societal and political transformations.

JUNE 26, 2024ByELI ASHKENAZI
David Ben-Gurion – Israeli politician, Zionist leader, First Prime Minister of israel.

New app by Israel's Defense Ministry helps to navigate the graves of Israel's fallen forces

The application, "Memory Paths," allows individuals to navigate to graves in military cemeteries, giving users information about the fallen buried there.

MAY 10, 2024ByWALLA!
Israeli flags on graves of fallen soldiers in Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on May 9, 2024, ahead of Israeli Memorial Day.

How many Haredim can the IDF really absorb in near future? - Explainer

This week, the IDF also leaked a potential plan for having Haredim serve as border security in the West Bank without having to formally join the IDF.

APRIL 1, 2024ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
HAREDI MEN protest outside the IDF recruiting office in Jerusalem.

Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital to Economics Ministry : Give hospital security 'preferred' status

"In recent years, we have all witnessed a significant increase in violence in hospitals towards the medical staff.”

OCTOBER 30, 2023ByJUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
‘I refuse to believe that people come to a clinic to start a fistfight. The problem is that we are understaffed, that the facilities are insufficient and that patients often have to wait far too long.’

Gallant: Service in IDF must remain a supreme value

IDF intelligence chief: Following intel. 'commandments' will avoid another surprise war.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2023ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
RESERVE SOLDIERS, veterans, and activists protest against the intention of some reservists to refuse to serve, as part of the protest against the planned judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv earlier this year.