Since the
Israeli Declaration of Independence
The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...
in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. The draft laws of the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
(IDF) only apply to
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
(males and
females),
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
(males only), and
Circassians
The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...
(males only). Because the Druze and Circassian communities are less populous, their women are exempted from mandatory military service altogether. Women from the Jewish community are not exempted, but serve for slightly shorter terms than their male counterparts. The IDF does not conscript non-Druze
Arab citizens of Israel
The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...
, though their men and women may enlist voluntarily.
Unique among the country's Jewish-majority population are the
Haredi Jews, who previously enjoyed full exemption from the IDF through a special arrangement called ''
Torato Umanuto'', which was organized by Israel's founding prime minister
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary List of national founders, national founder and first Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency ...
. The arrangement became increasingly controversial in Israeli society, with growing discontent towards the increasingly populous Haredi community not "sharing the burden" of national duty. In June 2024,
Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Haredi Jews were eligible for compulsory service, ending nearly eight decades of exemption. The army began drafting Haredi men the following month.
, the minimum required length of military service is two years and eight months (with some roles requiring an additional four months of service) for all conscripted men, and two years (with some roles requiring an additional eight months of service) for conscripted Jewish women. Once they have completed their mandatory term of service, all discharged citizens
remain eligible to be called up for reserve duty until the age of 40. Draftees may be
exempted from military service on humanitarian, religious, or certain legal grounds.
History
According to the
Israeli Defense Service Law, which regulates duties and exceptions, all Israeli citizens who meet the conscription criteria are required to serve once they reach 18 years of age unless they qualify for any of the above-mentioned exemptions.
In 1949, after the founding of the
State of Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, the
Knesset
The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel.
The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
passed the Defense Service Law which gave the IDF the authority to enlist any citizen over the age of 18.
Draftees would then be required to show up for the draft in accordance with the military's decision to enlist them. Under this law, the period of service for men was 30 months and for women 18 months (although in accordance with a temporary order from January 10, 1968, six additional months were added to the mandatory service, 36 months for men and 24 months for women respectively). Since 2015, the service for men has been 32 months; in 2020, this was reduced to 30 months following a decision made in 2016, but this change was reverted in 2021 and the reduction was postponed to 2024. The draft requirement applies to any citizen or permanent resident of legal age, and in accordance with the law, the individuals who are exempt from the draft are dismissed for various reasons, such as incapability, medical problems, military personnel needs, etc. Many of the soldiers who complete their mandatory military service are later obligated to serve in a reserve unit in accordance with the military's needs.
Economic constraints on the IDF have caused them to reconsider their structure and slowly shift towards a more modern military. A shift towards a professional militia has caused the IDF to adopt more career-oriented attributes, thus becoming more selective than in prior years. Instead of focusing on “role expansion,” Israel, most specifically its government, is focusing on “nation building.” One of the most recent developments is a focus on inclusivity of gay and especially disabled citizens. In 2013, 26 percent of all potential conscripts were exempted from military service in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
; 13.5 percent for religious reasons, 4 percent for psychological reasons, 2 percent for physical health reasons, 3 percent due to existing criminal records, and 3 percent due to residing abroad.
Medical profiles
The IDF determines a medical profile for each soldier; according to that profile, the army decides where to assign the draftees. The highest medical profile draftees serve in the five infantry Brigades, Field/Combat Intelligence units, and Combat engineers. The second highest medical profiles are assigned to serve in the Armoured Corps, Artillery, Military Police, Border Police, and
Aman. The lowest acceptable level of medical profiles are drafted into the combat support and combat service support Arms, such as the
Adjutant Corps,
Logistics Corps, and the
Ordnance Corps. Draftees with lower than acceptable profiles (
Profile 21) and draftees diagnosed as ''not suitable for military service'' are fully exempted from military obligations. The highest profile is 97.
Grounds for exemption

Although military service in Israel is compulsory, exemptions can be secured on religious, physical, psychological, or legal grounds. There is also a growing, but still very rare, phenomenon of
draft dodging, mainly due to conscience or political reasons (See
Refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces). Exemptions have come under attack on grounds of fairness, and also because of a perceived shortage of combat personnel.
Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...
students who declare that "Torah study is their occupation" (, ''
Torato Umanuto'') can delay their conscription as long as they continue their studies, under the so-called ''Tal Law'' (see:
Tal Committee). In practice, many of them end up never serving at all. Following the Haredi community's high birthrate and massive growth in comparison to the rest of Jewish Israeli society, the system which was initially created to allow for a couple hundred exemptions has now led to, as of 2019, 59% of Jewish women and 69% of Jewish men being drafted.
This is a very controversial issue in Israel and key component of
religious relations in Israel. Several attempts were made to change the practice, notably the establishment of the
Tal committee in 1999, which led to the ''Tal Law'', implemented in July 2002. Yet the ''Torato Umanuto'' exemption continued largely unchanged. The Tal Law was later ruled unconstitutional in its current form, and a replacement is needed before August 2012. Most previous beneficiaries of this exemption are
Haredi Jews. Members of the
Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...
sector often serve within a separate system called
Hesder
Hesder ( "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox J ...
, a concept developed by Rabbi
Yehuda Amital, which combines advanced
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
ic studies with military service in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
. The
IDF also tends to make the military service easier for recruits at an older age and recruits with families; as well as high-ranked
sportspeople
An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...
and
artists (
musicians
A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
,
models
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided int ...
, actors, and
social media influencers) of note. From time to time a public debate emerges in Israel around the issue of
exemption from military service in Israel.
A basic law of Israel is the
Israeli Defense Service Law. It lists the guidelines and regulations of mandated military service in Israel. Some regulation includes age, duties, service requirements, time of service, etc. Chapter 5: Reserve Service: Going Abroad covers the rules and requirements for going on becoming a temporary reserve and going abroad.
(a) A person designated for defense service and a person of military age who belongs to the regular forces of the Israel Defense Forces shall not go abroad unless granted a permit from the
Minister of Defense.
(b) A person of military age the continuance of whose regular service has been deferred for any reason shall not go abroad during the period of deferment save under a permit from the Minister of Defense.
(c) A permit under this section may be unconditional or subject to conditions, including a condition relating to the holder's stay abroad.
(e) Where any of the conditions of the permit is not fulfilled, the Minister of Defense may revoke the permit and may direct him, by order, to return to Israel within the time prescribed in the order.
(f) The Minister of Defense shall not exercise his power under subsection (e) before he has given the holder of the permit an opportunity to state his case to him.
The IDF had strict restraints on letting individuals go into the reserves, even if just temporarily because of their high risk of attack from neighboring states. Through the dissolution of partnerships and peace treaties in recent years, that threat has reduced considerably.
Consequently, the high demand for IDF soldiers has slightly decreased as well.
Specific population groups
* The IDF does not conscript
Arab citizens of Israel
The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...
who are Muslim or Christian, however, they may choose to volunteer for military service. For
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
and
Circassian men, enlistment is mandatory.
*
Yeshiva
A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...
students who declare that "Torah study is their profession" (, ''
Torato Umanuto'') could previously delay their conscription as long as they continue their studies, under the so-called ''Tal Law'' until it was repealed
*
Female draftees who state that they maintain a religious Jewish way of life are exempt from military service, and many of them choose to volunteer for an alternative national service called
Sherut Leumi.
* Male members of the
Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...
sector often serve within a separate system called
Hesder
Hesder ( "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox J ...
, a concept developed by Rabbi
Yehuda Amital, which combines advanced
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
ic studies with military service in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
. A five year program, which normally entails serving for a year and five months instead of three years and learning for three years and 7 months.
* Draftees who state that they are
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
s are required to appear before a committee tasked with examining the credibility of their claim. Exemption from service is granted if the committee is persuaded that their pacifism is sincere and meets the agreed criteria. Only a few individuals each year are granted an exemption on grounds of pacifism; all other self-declared pacifists are required to enlist.
* Immigrants who immigrate to Israel at the age of recruitment get various concessions in their military service.
* Draftees with a physical or psychological disability which are exempt from military service may still volunteer to serve. It can be a symbolic service of four hours a day, but they might also end up serving in full-time military service.
* Leading active
athletes
An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including trac ...
might in many cases be granted an "Outstanding athlete" status which allows them to get a more convenient and shorter service, so they can continue to develop their career and represent Israel abroad in international competitions. The "Outstanding athlete" status is given only to athletes competing in Olympic sports. In addition, the military also grants the similar "Outstanding dancer" status and an "Outstanding musician" status. This status is granted in the same way and after the individuals have been examined. They may also be granted a more convenient service so that they can continue to improve their abilities and career during military service.
Draft process
The military draft process occurs in the following steps:
The Army calls upon a potential soldier in a letter and this is called the "First Calling" or Tzav Rishon. This letter states that the teenager must report to a certain place at a certain time for a day-long examination and interviewing.
After careful looking over of the Tzav Rishon's results the army will call the people to enlist when they turn a certain age to begin the army process and basic training.
Deferral of service
There are various routes which allow the draftees to postpone the date of recruitment. An automatic postponement is granted for students to graduate from high school. Additional routes which lead to the postponing of the recruitment include:
* Volunteering for a one-year service in a
youth organization
The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for Minor (law), minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted othe ...
.
* Postponement of conscription due to the IDF needs, usually due to a course beginning on a date which occurs later than the original drafting date given to the draftee.
* Postponement of conscription due to various personal reasons.
* One can postpone the draft for a year in order to go to Torah studies.
* One can postpone the draft as part of the
Hesder
Hesder ( "arrangement"; also Yeshivat Hesder ) is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox J ...
agreement.
Academic programs
*
Academic Reserve – a program designed to enlist and train soldiers who have an academic background in fields vital to the military's needs.
*
Talpiot program – an elite training program for young people who have demonstrated outstanding academic ability in the sciences, physics and mathematics. Graduates of the Talpiot program pursue higher education while serving in the army, and then utilize their expertise to further IDF research and development.
* The
pilot course also offers a Tal college degree.
* The
Israeli Naval Academy (קורס חובלים), whose candidates study for a degree from the
Haifa University during the course.
Dismissal of conscripts
During the drafting process sometimes draftees get exempted from the draft because of incompatibility. Sometimes the incompatibility of an individual is determined later on during his or her military service, and leads to dismissal from the army. The incompatibility may stem from various reasons:
* Criminal record or history of using drugs.
* Low motivation to serve.
When there is a surplus of recruits, the military often raises the threshold required of recruits, and grants an exemption due to incompatibility to a much larger number of recruits. In addition, there is a widespread phenomenon of granting exemption from military service because of incompatibility to female candidates who were identified as having a low medical profile and/or low motivation to serve. In such cases the reason for the exemption would usually be stated as: "Excess of female recruits."
The IDF can also determine that a draftee has adjustment difficulties. A soldier with adjustment difficulties would not serve as a combat soldier.
Volunteering equivalency
A draftee found unfit for military service may still choose to volunteer for military service; their status will be similar to all the other draftees found to be fit for service. Once enlisted, these volunteers cannot choose to quit the military early.
Alternative national service
There is an alternative voluntary civilian national service in Israel for those that cannot or do not wish to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Most participants are Jewish women from the Religious Zionist sector.
Future of conscription
The IDF has reportedly concluded that it will, at some point in the future, have to end conscription in favor of an all-volunteer force. Reasons include growing unpopularity of military service among Israeli youth, a growth in draft-dodging, and budgetary constraints that would prevent the IDF from conscripting all those eligible even if draft-dodging were not an issue. Israel is reportedly studying how the United States and European nations ended conscription and transitioned to all-volunteer forces, for a possible future transition.
See also
*
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
*
Women in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel is one of only a few countries where military service is compulsory for many able-bodied female citizens. Under Israeli conscription laws, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) may draft recruits from three communities: the Jews, the Druze, ...
*
Reserve duty (Israel)
*
Refusal to serve in the IDF
*
The People's Army Model
References
External links
IDF: Nearly 28% of Israeli males avoided conscription in 2007- published in
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
Dodging Israel's draft- published on
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
Israel confronts flagging interest in military service- published in washingtonpost.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conscription In Israel
Military of Israel