IDF: 50% of Israeli teens do not enlist
Number of youths who enlist for military service drops further in 2008.
Majority of men who do join army say they are satisfied with their service,
desire combat positions
Moran Zelikovich YNET Published: 07.01.08, 14:27 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3562596,00.html

Only 52% of Israeli teenagers enlist in the IDF - this was the statistic
presented Tuesday morning to the education committee by Col. Tziki Sela,
head of the army's Department of Planning and Manpower Administration.

The data displays an ongoing trend showing that the amount of youths serving
in the Israeli army is decreasing. In 2002, 59% enlisted. The figures
include Arab and ultra-Orthodox youths, who are exempt from mandatory
service.

Sela estimated that there are approximately 7,000 draft dodgers every year.

He added that in the upcoming years the number of people serving in the army
is expected to decline even further.

This is mostly due to the extent of the exemptions authorized and the
relatively smaller age groups. However, Sela did say that "the IDF is aware
of the situation and this will not affect national security. The army has a
solution for the decrease in soldiers."

According to Sela, about 25% of youths who evade service by declaring
themselves ultra-Orthodox Torah scholars never attend Orthodox yeshivas.

"Some of the yeshiva heads encourage them not to enlist and instead to sign
up for studies, due to budget issues," he said. The number of ultra-Orthodox
youths who shirk their service is expected to continue to increase.

And more girls are also evading service. "A girl who drives on Yom Kippur
with an non-Kosher sandwich in her hand can come and request an exemption on
religious ground and by law, I have to accept her claim," said Sela.

On a positive note however, the overall number of girls enlisting has risen
and an increase is also apparent in the level of satisfaction amongst boys
who serve - a recent study found that 80% are pleased with their service and
70.3% said they were motivated to be combat soldiers

Religion, however, is far from the only prevalent excuse used by those
seeking to evade military service.

The army noted an increase in exemptions given to men on medical grounds.
There has also been a rise in exemption given to those with criminal records
and those living abroad.