Israeli army statistics show the number of young people who refuse to sign up for mandatory service has increased in recent years to more than 1 in 4 men in 2007 and more than 43% of women, most of whom either cite religious reasons, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory or last year’s war in Lebanon.
In a country born out of war, it is a taboo to opt out of military service. Most people regard “draft dodgers” as traitors and cowards. "People refer to me as a traitor and say that my country has given me so much and I'm not willing to give anything back, like a parasite… But I know what I believe ... If truly everyone saw things the way I see them then we wouldn't need an army,” Saar Vardi, a 17-year-old student who doesn’t want to join the army, told Reuters.
All 18-year-old men and women are required to serve in the Israeli military. Talented artists and athletes choose between career and civil duties. Most men have to serve for three years, and are liable for reserve duty after that. Women must do 21 months.
Although Ultra Orthodox Jews have been exempt from military service for years, more secular Israelis are now choosing not to join the army, sometimes saying they are conscientious objectors or physically or psychologically unfit for battle.
Some openly say that they hate to fight for an occupying power and are willing to go to jail for the beliefs. Others simply don’t trust Ehud Olmert’s government with their lives after the Israeli army’s failures during the war against Lebanon last summer.
Many Israelis also skip military duty to focus on their education or career instead of defending their country. "There's the ongoing wars and the ongoing occupation," said Hagay Matar, who spent two years in prison for refusing the draft. "People are starting to feel they don't have to do it."
According to an editorial on Reuters, the trend to avoid military service has triggered heated debate in the Jewish state. "When he goes into battle a soldier should not have to feel that a portion of our society regards him as a sucker," Defence Minister Ehud Barak was reported as saying in July. "It's time to go back to the days when service was a right and an honor and shirking was like wearing the mark of Cain."
Some Israeli commentators also condemn those who shun military service, reminding them they face jail. "Draft dodging is a cancer that eats away at the foundations of Israel as a society," said Eitan Haber, a columnist writing in Israel's most popular daily Yedioth Ahronoth. "They don't want to serve? They will get a mess kit and a prison uniform."
To make the army more attractive for young talented people, the Israeli government is now considering the idea of forming a dance group, AFP reported. The government is also allowing sportsmen, musicians and even fashion models to do their military service away from the frontline while pursuing their careers. It is also planning to launch a civilian service program, which would allow conscientious objectors, the physically unfit, ultra Orthodox Jews and Israeli Arabs -- who are exempt from the draft -- a chance to serve in other ways.
Reuven Gal, who headed a team that drew up recommendations to the government for the new program, said Israelis should have the option to shun the army as long as they did not shirk national duty entirely. "We want to create a norm whereby a person who does not enlist goes to civilian service," Gal was quoted as saying. "We should not generalize and say that draft-dodgers should be strung up in the city square."
Despite the criticism and the condemnation that Israeli draft dodgers face, they are being strongly supported by many inside Israel.
Columnist Yonatan Gefen asked in the Ma'ariv newspaper why Israel's young people would want to fight in an army "that doesn't know what it is dying for."
Israel should favor a leaner, professional military over conscription and focus on technology and intelligence instead of numbers, particularly since military might did not help it get rid of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, said another commentator.
"Modern wars are not won by masses of foot soldiers," wrote columnist Gabi Nitzam in Yedioth Ahronoth last month.
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