Wanting to contribute: War sparks flood of ultra-Orthodox youth into national service

By admin On Jul 9, 2024

Against the backdrop of the public debate on equally sharing the burden within Israeli society to serve in the military, recent data on the integration of the ultra-Orthodox community into national-civil service indicate a positive trend over the past year.

Maariv has obtained information on the number of participants who joined the national-civil service frameworks, showing an impressive 65% increase within one year.

The number of ultra-Orthodox individuals who chose this path between July 2023 and June 2024 stands at 811 participants, compared to 492 new ultra-Orthodox recruits in the previous year.

In total, about 1,500 ultra-Orthodox individuals are currently serving in various national-civil service tracks, a figure not far from the number of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in military service.

In fact, since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War, each month has seen significantly higher numbers of new recruits compared to the same month last year, including a record of 177 recruits just last month (June 2024).

AN ILLUSTRATION OF a haredi man and an IDF soldier standing side by side, united, as is the army standing behind them, under a colorful blue and white Israeli flag (credit: Dall-E)

When looking only at the data since the fighting started in October, the increase is even higher—73% more than in the corresponding period last year.

A significant increase

According to the data, the past year saw a significant 108% increase, specifically in the security service track (from 134 to 279), which includes institutions such as the police, Shin Bet, and even the Mossad.

According to sources familiar with the details, the war heightened the desire of many young ultra-Orthodox individuals to contribute to the state. Since this track does not involve military enlistment, it is considered more acceptable and suitable for their community.

Minister Orit Strock, who is responsible for the Civil Service Comission, said in response to the publication that “The national civil service is an excellent platform for the quality contribution of ultra-Orthodox young people to the state and its security, without in any way harming their faith and their way of life. We would be happy to expand the frameworks and allow hundreds and thousands more to be integrated and contribute through our service frameworks.”

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