Col. Tziki Sela spoke about his view of shirking service in the IDF. “Recruitment for all means the recruitment of the rich and poor in society, unlike the US military, which only recruits the poor,” he said. “Recruitment for all is the force necessary for Israel’s existence. The educational system plays a role in recruitment for service in the IDF, just as it plays in role in adult education. A dangerous state of paralysis has emerged in Israel. On one hand there is an excellent group of highly qualified people ready to give while on the other there is no incentive for them to give. There is no middle ground. The state of Israel must support those who serve in the army, and this should apply to volunteers and recruits in national civic service as well.”

Col. Sela presented worrying data on recruitment rates among youth in Israel. Only 52% of youth in Israel are recruited by law and 16% of recruits are discharged after the first year of service.

Col. Sela strongly attacked the law that exempts women who claim to be religious from military service, which has led to a situation in which 43% of Jewish women do not serve. “In the current situation, a girl can drive to the recruitment office on Yom Kippur, eat a non-kosher sandwich there, and declare she’s religious,” he said. “This is enough legally to exempt her from service.”

Col. Sela thinks that 7,000 people shirk service every year, describing shirkers as those who by law should serve but prefer not to.

Source: www.inn.co.il

July 1, 2008

By: Site editors