Introduction
IDF Doctrine
Society and Service
The Haredi Issue
Terms of Service
Foreign Volunteers
Psychological Concerns
Introduction
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was founded shortly after the State of Israel was established in 1948. It ranks among the most battle-tested and highly-trained armed forces in the world.
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The IDF’s security objectives are to defend the existence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of the State of Israel, deter all of Israel’s enemies, and curb all forms of terrorism that threaten daily life.
Most IDF soldiers are Jewish, but the number of Christian recruits has steadily climbed since 2012, when concentrated efforts to encourage their enlistment began. The number is still only in the hundreds. In 2019, one soldier was promoted to lieutenant colonel, making him the first Christian to hold that rank.
In October 2014, the IDF topped Business Insider Magazine’s list of the most powerful militaries in the Middle East and the list of the top air forces in the entire world. A close security relationship with the United States and a booming defense industry gave Israel an edge over the other countries on the list. Israel has one of the most well-tested and battle-ready armies in the world (it has fought in four major engagements since 2006) and can mobilize quickly due to the country's relatively compact size. The Israeli Air Force was ranked first in the entire world due to their space assets, advanced fighter jets, high-tech armed drones, and nuclear weapons. Chris Harmer, a senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, was quoted in Business Insider: “Pilot to pilot, airframe to airframe, the Israeli Air Force is the best in the world.”
IDF Doctrine
To ensure success, the IDF’s strategic-level doctrine is defensive, while its tactics are offensive. Given the country’s limited territorial depth, the IDF must take the initiative when necessary and, if attacked, quickly shift the battlefield to enemy territory. Although its enemies have always outnumbered it, the IDF maintains a qualitative advantage by deploying advanced weapons systems, many of which are developed and manufactured in Israel to meet its specific needs. The IDF’s primary resource, however, is the high caliber of its soldiers.
In preparing for defense, the IDF deploys a small standing army (conscripts and career personnel) with early-warning capabilities, along with a regular air force and navy. Most of its troops are reservists, called up regularly for training and service, and quickly mobilized into their units from across the country during war or crisis.
The IDF’s three service branches (ground forces, air force, and navy) operate under a unified command led by the chief of staff, a lieutenant general, who reports to the Minister of Defense. The government appoints the chief of staff on the recommendation of the prime minister and the minister of defense for a three-year term, usually extended for an additional year.
Except when combat duty is involved, men and women soldiers of all ranks serve side by side as technicians, communications and intelligence specialists, combat instructors, cartographers, administrative and ordnance personnel, computer operators, doctors, lawyers, and the like. The IDF is responsive to its soldiers’ cultural and social needs, providing recreational and educational activities and personal support services. Recruits with incomplete educational backgrounds are given opportunities to upgrade their level of education, and career officers are encouraged to study at the IDF’s expense during their service. Integrating new immigrant soldiers is supported by specialized Hebrew-language instruction and other programs. Active in nation-building initiatives since its inception, the IDF also provides remedial and supplementary education to civilians and contributes to the absorption of newcomers. In times of national crisis or emergency, the IDF responds immediately with appropriate actions and assigns trained personnel to fill essential roles or carry out specific tasks.
Society and Service
Service in the Israel Defense Forces measures involvement in the country’s life. Most men and single women are inducted into the IDF at age 18; women serve for two years, and men for three, followed by reserve service: men up to age 51 and single women up to age 24. The IDF announced in November 2014 that, starting in July 2015, mandatory service would be reduced by four months, to 32 months. In addition, the compulsory service length for female soldiers will be extended concurrently to promote equality. During the meeting at which these new service requirements were approved, discussions also addressed raising enlisted soldiers’ salaries.
In July 2024, due to human resources shortages stemming from the Iron Swords War, the Knesset approved the first reading of a temporary provision bill extending military service from 32 months to 36 months, effective through June 2029. This bill authorized the Defense Minister to shorten service for specific units and roles, but not below 28 months (or 32 months during the temporary period). Soldiers who serve beyond the mandated terms will receive additional compensation. While Defense Minister Yoav Gallant justified the extension to meet IDF targets, opposition leaders criticized the move as unfair to soldiers already serving. The Knesset has also extended a provision raising the release age for IDF reservists, mandating that regular soldiers serve until age 41 and officers until age 46 to prevent sudden discharge amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
Excluding the ultra-Orthodox, the society and the army are one: a broad spectrum of the population serves periodically over many years, with those in and out of uniform virtually interchangeable. Since soldiers often hold ranks that do not necessarily correspond with their status in civilian life, the IDF has become a highly effective equalizer in society and contributes significantly to integrating individuals from all walks of life. The IDF also helps new immigrants acclimate to Israeli life during military service, within a framework in which everyone undergoes the same process.
Over the years, the IDF has assumed a variety of national-social functions for society at large, including providing special services for new immigrants, upgrading the educational levels of adults who were denied basic education in their countries of origin, supplying teachers to development towns, assisting in disadvantaged areas, and responding to emergencies in the civilian sector.
Christian individuals living in Israel also serve in the IDF and are actively recruited. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at an IDF Christian Recruitment forum in December 2014 and said, “We are brothers, we are partners – Christians and Jews and Druze and Muslims who defend the State of Israel.”
As of 2024, more than 350 Muslim soldiers serve in the IDF, most of them in combat units. The Muslim soldiers are mostly Bedouins who enlist voluntarily. Other Arab Israelis — Muslim and Christian — who are exempt from compulsory service have historically avoided the military out of solidarity with Palestinians. In 2008, Lt. Col. (res.) Hisham Abu Raya became the first non-Bedouin Muslim officer in the IDF.
Israel has seen a significant rise in IDF enlistment among Druze, Bedouins, and Arab Christians since the Israel-Hamas war started, driven by regional turmoil and the shock of the October 7 massacre, which reshaped attitudes toward security and belonging. The Druze community, especially in the Golan Heights, which has historically been opposed to Israeli sovereignty, has shown the most dramatic shift, with enlistment motivation reportedly six times higher than before, alongside growing requests for Israeli citizenship. Bedouin service remains strong, and Arab Christian enlistment has tripled, while Arab Muslim enlistment has also increased modestly. Although overall numbers from minority communities remain relatively small, IDF officials describe these trends as a meaningful transformation rooted in fear of regional instability and a renewed sense of shared fate.
In February 2026, the IDF announced that Lt. Cdr. “Resh” will become the first woman to command an Israeli Navy Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boat, calling the appointment a “significant milestone” that reflects professionalism and equal opportunity. Resh, who enlisted in 2016 and previously served as deputy commander of a missile boat and commander of a Dvora-class patrol boat, will take over a vessel that has participated in major operations, including strikes on the former Syrian regime’s naval fleet and senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures. Navy chief Vice Adm. David Sa’ar Salama described the move as a professional choice based on demonstrated leadership. The announcement came amid debate over expanding women’s combat roles, with critics warning of lowered standards and defenders citing operational necessity and the strong performance of female soldiers since October 7, 2023. In 2025, women comprised 21.2% of combat troops, and the IDF says it urgently needs 12,000 additional recruits.
The Haredi Issue
As of 2023, about 50% of 18-year-old men enlist in the IDF; 33% do not, half of whom are Haredim, who are granted deferments while pursuing Torah studies (those who do serve mainly fulfill religious functions) until the age of 26 after which they receive a permanent exemption. Out of respect for their community’s religious commitments, Orthodox women may be exempted (45% are), although many choose to perform 12 months of national service in the civilian sector.
Approximately 18% of the ultra-Orthodox community are of conscription age. Only 10% of those who graduate from Israeli state system schools enlist. By comparison, 88% of non-Orthodox Jews enlist.
While the Haredi failure to serve attracts widespread opprobrium among Israelis, Liel Leibovitz noted the lack of concern when a government report found that 32% of non-Haredi, military-age Israelis in Tel Aviv did not join the IDF in 2021.
When the government first decided to allow religious exemptions, it was seen as a compromise to secure Orthodox support for the state. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion agreed to exempt 400 yeshiva students. Moshe Dayan raised the number to 800. Prime Minister Menahem Begin subsequently removed the ceiling. Since then, the number of exemptions granted has increased from a few thousand to tens of thousands. Thousands were exempted under false pretenses, including by lying about their attendance at a yeshiva.
Many Israelis object to the exemptions, which they see as unfair to most people who serve and sacrifice for the country. The debate has been ongoing for years, with the Orthodox religious parties fighting against proposed laws to draft members of their communities.
In 1998, the Supreme Court said the exemptions undermine the principle of equality, which is the very soul of our entire constitutional regime. More recently, the Court set a July 2023 deadline for the government to adopt legislation to address the issue. The deadline passed without any changes.
When, for the first time, an Israeli government was formed without any of the religious parties in 2021, there was an expectation that the law would be changed to force the ultraorthodox to bear their share of the security burden. The government fell too quickly, however, and was replaced by a new one with the two major religious parties, which threatened to bring down the coalition if the draft was imposed on them. Instead, the government considered lowering the age of exemption to 21 or 23 while increasing compensation and providing other incentives for Israelis who serve. An alternative would be for the IDF to select whom it wants to serve and allow the rest to perform community service. The previous government considered lowering the exemption age and establishing a quota for ultra-Orthodox enlistment. The ultra-Orthodox are not satisfied with any of these proposals and want Torah study to be declared the equivalent of IDF service.
After the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, the IDF called up 295,000 reservists. As the war ground on and more soldiers were killed and wounded, many Israelis renewed complaints about the unfair burden they shared while the ultra-Orthodox were exempt from service. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed changing the status quo out of fear that the Orthodox parties would leave the coalition and bring the government down. Some saw this as a bluff as the parties would likely lose power if a new election were held; nevertheless, Netanyahu tried to find a compromise that they would accept. The issue became more urgent when a Supreme Court-imposed deadline passed, requiring the government to either reach an agreement or begin drafting the Haredim. On April 1, 2024, the Court barred the government from providing funds to ultra-Orthodox yeshivas for more than 50,000 students eligible for the draft. The ruling could affect 1,257 yeshivas.
On June 10, 2024, the Israeli government passed a controversial bill that further extended the exemption of military service for Haredi youth. The bill’s passage drew significant criticism from the opposition. Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, broke ranks with his government by voting against the bill. The amendment to the security service law aimed to integrate yeshiva students by incrementally raising the age of exemption, first to 22 after two years, then to 23 a year later. Ultra-Orthodox youth would be offered alternative enlistment routes with the national emergency and rescue service or a shortened service of three months or three weeks. This would bypass combat roles, which require several additional months of training. At the same time, the bill introduced escalating penalties for religious schools that failed to comply with enlistment quotas and regulations, starting with a 20% reduction in government funding, which would increase by 20% each year of noncompliance.
The effort to continue to protect the Haredim became especially provocative when the government, at the IDF’s behest, sought to raise the age for men required to report for reserve duty. With more than 600 Israeli soldiers having been killed in the war with Hamas, non-religious Israelis wanted the Haredim to bear their share of the burden.
The Supreme Court ruled on June 25, 2024, that the government must conscript ultra-Orthodox men and stop providing financial support to yeshiva students who study instead of performing military service. Under the ruling, an estimated 63,000 Haredi yeshiva students would be obligated to serve. The IDF, however, said it could realistically draft only 3,000 in the 2024 enlistment year that began in June. “The security establishment is obligated to act immediately to implement the ruling to draft yeshiva students who are obligated to perform military service, in accordance with the needs of the army and its capabilities, and in accordance with its commitment to draft 3,000 recruits,” Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon told the army.
The Court’s decision enraged the ultra-Orthodox factions of Netanyahu’s government. “The Jewish people survived persecutions, pogroms and wars only thanks to maintaining their uniqueness, the Torah and the commandments. This is our secret weapon against all enemies, as promised by the Creator of the universe,” Shas chairman Aryeh Deri said. He added that yeshiva students are “the ones who preserve our special power and generate miracles in the [military] campaign.”
Labor MK Merav Michaeli, representing the secular viewpoint, said, “We must not continue to allow a group of politicians and rabbis to leave the ultra-Orthodox youth behind, to prevent them from enlisting in the IDF and integrating into Israeli society. The ultra-Orthodox leadership wants to keep their power and impose a closed society on the ultra-Orthodox youth. This invalid situation must be stopped now.”
Despite the bluster of some ultra-Orthodox politicians threatening to bring down the government, they were unlikely to risk losing power by forcing new elections. Instead, they focused on passing legislation to continue exempting yeshiva students from service.
In response to the Court ordering that public funding be cut off from yeshivas whose students fail to enlist in the IDF, the ultra-Orthodox were said to have raised $100 million from donors in the United States. Some rabbis said they would leave Israel with their followers if they were drafted. Other Haredim said they were willing to go to jail to avoid service. Prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis urged yeshiva students not to show up at draft offices or answer any summons.
IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Amir Baram said on July 9 that the army would like to draft 4,800 ultra-Orthodox men in 2024 – meaning 3,000 new conscripts on top of the 1,800 ultra-Orthodox men already in the military. No definitive plan was made for the use of Haredi conscripts. Most were unlikely to be drafted for combat units, and some form of community service might be presented as an option. Integrating them into the army was not expected to be easy, and they would likely be assigned to their own units, with little or no interaction with female soldiers. Some all-Haredi units already exist. Non-Orthodox soldiers could also have the religious values of the Haredim thrust upon them. For example, the army might have to raise the level of kashrut for all food; female soldiers might be prohibited from wearing shorts or from instructing or commanding Haredi soldiers.
On July 18, 2024, the IDF said it would send out 3,000 draft orders starting July 21. That is out of 63,000 who are eligible for military service. Of those receiving orders to report to induction centers, approximately 15% are married, while 85% are single; the latter will be primarily assigned to combat roles. About half of the potential recruits are aged 18 to 21; another 40% are 22 to 23; and 10% are 24 to 26. Those who ignore multiple draft orders will be prevented from leaving the country and may face arrest by the Military Police and be taken to military jails.
Only 240 men reported after the first 3,000 draft notices were sent at the beginning of August, and hundreds of Haredi men protested outside the recruitment office. Some broke into the Tel Hashomer base. “Breaking into IDF bases is a serious offense and against the law. The IDF condemns the violent behavior and insists that justice must be brought forth against the perpetrators,” the IDF said. Despite this, on November 5, 2024, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant approved the issuance of 7,000 additional draft orders for Haredim.
A Knesset report said 4,000 Haredi men had volunteered to fight since October 7, but 3,120 were judged unfit. Of the 880 who were considered suitable, only 540 were recruited. This meant only 14% of the Haredi volunteers were ultimately accepted.
The Haredi United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, led by Yitzhak Goldknopf, has declared it will not support Israel’s 2025 budget unless the issue of haredi conscription is resolved. Although the Knesset began drafting a new law, progress stalled amid haredi leaders’ opposition to drafting yeshiva students. However, UTJ ultimately backed down on its demand in return for more political budgets.
In March 2025, Rabbi Dov Lando, a leading ultra-Orthodox rabbi in Israel, publicly urged yeshiva students to ignore IDF conscription orders, instructing them not to report to recruitment offices or engage with military representatives. Lando framed the military draft as a threat to the Torah world and accused Israel’s courts of waging war on Haredi religious life following a High Court ruling ending long-standing draft exemptions. His directive aligns with broader efforts within the ultra-Orthodox community to resist enlistment, including advisory hotlines and political support. Critics argue that such defiance reflects a belief in being above the law, while the IDF warns of severe shortages of human resources.
From July 2024 to April 2025, the Israeli military sent draft notices to 10,000 male ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, but only 205 were conscripted, with arrest warrants issued for 370 who refused service. Lt. Col. Avigdor Dickstein presented these figures to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which is discussing a bill to exempt Haredim from compulsory military service. Despite this, hundreds of demonstrators, including bereaved families and reservists, rallied for more vigorous conscription enforcement. The Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, face a growing crisis as they struggle to find a viable solution, with the possibility of mass draft evasion looming. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition faces collapse unless a resolution is found before June.
Israel’s arrests of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders in October 2025 failed to increase enlistment, with IDF Manpower Chief Maj. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa admitted that “loopholes the size of gates in a fence” allow tens of thousands of yeshiva students to avoid service. Roughly 80,000 Haredi men eligible for conscription remain outside the army, many exploiting psychiatric or legal exemptions. Arrested draft dodgers are typically jailed briefly and celebrated as heroes upon release, while weak enforcement and political pressure from Haredi parties have paralyzed government efforts to impose sanctions. Critics warn that the cycle of leniency and loopholes has turned enforcement into a “revolving door,” leaving Israel’s military short on manpower even amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
On February 12, 2026, ultra-Orthodox leaders from Shas and Degel HaTorah told Military Police on Monday to disobey orders to arrest yeshiva students avoiding the draft, threatening excommunication and divine punishment. Their statements came after clashes over the detention of a Haredi draft dodger.
Rabbi Moshe Maya of Shas condemned arresting Torah scholars as a grave dishonor, arguing that soldiers must not obey commands that violate Torah law. Rabbi Dov Lando, leader of Degel HaTorah, likewise denounced the arrests as a “terrible crime” that could bring divine judgment.
The remarks came amid intensifying political conflict over proposed legislation to retain draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, following a Supreme Court ruling against blanket exemptions. The issue sparked large weekly protests, with the IDF citing the urgent need for new recruits.
Terms of Service
Compulsory Service: All eligible men and women are drafted at age 18. Men serve for three years, women for 21 months. Deferments may be granted to qualified students at institutions of higher education. New immigrants may be deferred or required to serve for shorter periods, depending on their age and personal status upon entry to the country.
Reserve Duty: Upon completion of compulsory service, each soldier is assigned to a reserve unit. Men aged 51 and younger serve 39 days each year, a period that can be extended during emergencies. Recent policy has been to reduce the burden whenever possible, and reservists who have served combat units may now be discharged at age 45. Less than 4% of those aged 22-45 serve in the reserve forces.
Career Military Service: Veterans of compulsory service who meet current IDF needs may enroll as career officers or NCOs. The career service constitutes the command-and-administrative backbone of the IDF. Graduates of officers’ or pilots’ schools, or of special military technical schools, must sign on for periods of career service.
Foreign Volunteers
Volunteers have come from around the world to fight for Israel since the War of Independence. Today, the IDF features soldiers from more than 70 countries, with over 1/4 of these recruits coming from the United States. These soldiers are known as lone soldiers and are placed in the same category as Israeli recruits who do not have a support network (orphans) and Israelis whose parents are not in Israel year-round.
The first group of Chinese Jewish IDF recruits from Kaifeng, China, joined the IDF in 2014. In August 2017, the IDF announced that, for the first time, volunteers from Honduras and Thailand attended their summer training session. Most foreign IDF recruits in recent years came from France.
Psychological Concerns
During and after the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel’s Defense Ministry struggled with a severe shortage of mental health professionals, leading to a crisis in care for IDF veterans suffering from PTSD. A survey revealed that 51% of traumatized soldiers’ families were unaware of their rights. With only one caseworker available for every 850 veterans and 58% of those treated after October 7 suffering from PTSD or other mental health conditions, the system was severely strained.
A Knesset report indicated that between January 2024 and July 2025, 279 IDF soldiers attempted suicide, and in 2024, combat soldiers represented 78% of all suicide cases—a dramatic increase from prior years. Additionally, only 17% of soldiers who died by suicide had recently seen a mental health officer.
Knesset Health Committee chair Limor Son Har-Melech acknowledged the state’s obligation: “We owe our psychological casualties, the post-trauma victims. The State of Israel sent them into battle, or was responsible for them in moments of horror, and now it is our duty to stand by them in the rehabilitation process.”
Sources: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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