It is not a secret that the left wing in Israel wants to see
the High Court force the draft on thousands of yeshiva
students. At the same time, however, it is becoming painfully
obvious to all that young Israelis themselves are less and
less interested in serving in the army.
A recent article in Ha'aretz openly declared that the
mandatory draft is "now a thing of the past." The writer,
Uriah Shavit, presents statistics included in a new survey,
which show a significant drop in the motivation of youngsters
to join the army. He quotes secular youngsters who have
dodged the draft and claim that anyone can receive an
exemption effortlessly. Moreover, Israeli society now accepts
this forgivingly.
The paper presents a typical story, one of many: Three years
ago, Yoni, who is presently 20, was called for the first time
to the IDF induction center. He was a student in a
fashionable Tel Aviv high school, which placed much emphasis
on the ideology of army service. But all along Yoni had known
that the army wasn't for him.
"I knew that I wasn't suited for the army," he said. "The
military framework would have forced me to change so much,
that it was clear to me that I would drop out anyway. I can't
belong to such a primitive framework, in which a soldier can
be thrown into jail just because he was late or fell asleep
at guard duty."
Yoni did not have to work too hard to get his exemption.
"During my personal interview I sat opposite some hapless
soldier. I told him that things simply wouldn't work out. He
sent me to the mental health officer. I met with him twice,
and told him the same thing. In the end, they sent me to some
sort of a committee...
"At the committee they told me that I would have trouble in
life if I didn't serve in the army," Yoni recalled. "But I
insisted. I didn't have to make believe that I was crazy, or
anything like that. I just said that army service wasn't for
me. That was enough. My exemption card merely says: Received
exemption according to the law."
And what became of him in the years that followed?
"Despite everything they told me when they tried to convince
me to enlist, I have work; I have a driver's license; I have
everything," he said. "Nothing bad happened to me because I
didn't go to the army. Most of my good friends don't go to
the army. Some do go, but the fact that I received an
exemption doesn't bother them.
"In my circle there are still adults who preach that it's not
ethical and blah, blah, blah. But most of the people accept
my decision. I have no guilt feelings. I really admire those
guys who enlist. But the truth is that some kids are simply
not cut out for the army."
The Ha'aretz article notes that cases like Yoni's have
recently become so common "that today no one is particularly
fazed by them."
The paper reports on the findings of a survey solicited by
Shmuel Abuav, the head of the Kiryat Tivon council and
chairman of the Education Committee of the Local Government
Center. As such he acts as a link between the army and the
youth. The findings were compared to those of a similar
survey conducted two years before.
The comparison pointed to a drop in the willingness of youth
to serve in combat units. It also found that more and more
potential inductees prefer to serve near their homes. In
addition, the percentage of secular youth who have no desire
to serve at all has risen from one to six percent.
The Ha'aretz reporter notes an interesting fact: Three
weeks ago the telephone rang in Abuav's office.
"On the line was an officer from the army's manpower branch.
She asked me not to publish the results of the survey," Abuov
said. "Of course, I didn't agree. Only a few years ago, the
army itself was the first to come out with these surveys, but
suddenly they made a complete turnabout. Apparently they
reached the conclusion that so many reports on the drop in
motivation was detrimental to them. I don't understand
that."
From his conversations with professionals and with youngsters
in recent years Abuov has learned about certain procedures
that may help to explain the results of the survey.
Incoming soldiers are far more interested in themselves and
their own goals, he said, and much less interested in
contributing to the community. In addition, he confirmed that
Israeli society today is far more forgiving of draft
dodgers.
And while Abuov does not forget to take a swipe at the "draft
dodging of the chareidi sector," that is at the bottom of his
list. In the end, the most significant changes are a lack of
motivation and the absence of social pressure to enlist.
How does one get out of serving in the army?
Ha'aretz relates that there are a number of ways to
accomplish this task. One of them depends on the goodwill of
the mental health officer. But what really helps is the
perseverance of the potential draft dodger in his efforts to
wear down the system until they let him off the hook.
It is also clear that the army has failed to formulate
unequivocal criteria which would determine who is fit to
serve and who is not. As a result some draft dodgers must be
quite creative in crafting their excuses, while others manage
to gain an exemption without much effort.
During one's actual military service, one can receive an
exemption not only by means of the mental health officer,
Ha'aretz pointed out. A discharge can be issued by the
Committee for Unsuitables, which releases soldiers who have
committed many disciplinary infractions, or who, according to
the army, "cost more to keep in than to throw out."
Another way out is through a special committee that examines
the financial situation or health of the soldier's family.
The incidence of soldiers who don't enlist at all, or who
enlist and are released during the course of their service is
about 40%-45% of those eligible during any specific draft
year.
The Ha'aretz article also details the story of 23-year-
old Roni Barkan from Ra'anana, a former soldier who managed
to succeed in forcing the system to release him.
Barkan describes his case history without hesitation: "I did
work in physics. The truth is that already in tenth grade, I
had misgivings about whether the army suited me. Despite the
misgivings and all of the difficulties, I underwent basic
training. I simply didn't find a good enough reason not to
enlist, and had the feeling that if I didn't enlist, I would
be a parasite.
"After two months in the army, I felt that it was time to
leave," he recalled. "I understood that the army didn't suit
me, and that I had no interest in promoting any specific
country. I didn't care on what grounds I would be released.
The main thing was to be discharged. I went to the mental
health officer and threatened to commit suicide if they
didn't release me. But I didn't give the system any
alternative, and things became complicated.
"For a year-and-a-half, I roamed about the base without any
job. I would come at 2:30, drink coffee, gossip and go home.
In the end I managed to receive an appointment with a top
ranking military psychiatrist. He heard my story and said:
O"K. I understand. Let's find something on which to pin your
discharge.'
"The discharge says that I was released because I was
immature. I am happy that I managed to get out of the army
without having to be in jail."
He added that most of his family and friends related to his
decision forgivingly and with understanding, and that he
hasn't encountered any problems in his civilian life as a
result.
"I don't feel that society has placed any sanctions on me,"
he said.
Today Barkan works in the Komtatz company. He devotes some of
his spare time to a movement called New Profile which was
founded in 1998, and whose purpose is to cancel the mandatory
draft.
Sergei Sendler, a 25-year-old philosophy student at Ben
Gurion University, who calls himself a pacifist, sat in
prison at the end of 1994, until the army agreed to discharge
him.
"I was certain that I would be ostracized by my friends if I
didn't enlist in the army," he said. "But it has become clear
to me that during the past five years, Israeli society has
changed, and quite rapidly too.
"The stigmas attached to those who don't serve in the army
don't exist any more. The first place where I found work
after my discharge was in the Central Statistics Bureau. I
feel that in my circle, people have stopped idolizing the
IDF. They understand that some go to the army because they
believe in it, and that I didn't go because I don't believe
in it."
