All able-bodies, to arms! - Attitudes of Israeli High School students toward conscription and combat service

The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) has been long known as "The People's Army". Army service is based on the militia model. All able Jewish persons, as well as the Druze minority group, are required by law to serve a 3-year tour and then continue serving in reserve units until the age of 45. Recently surveys have shown that a mere 60% of each age group conscripted complete their full course of duty. Only 12% of all reservists are actually summoned for reserve duty. The paper analyzes the changes that have taken place in this regard over the years. It also analyzes the attitudes of a convenience sample of Jewish teenagers towards conscription and combat service. The main conclusion of the article based both on official data and on sample findings, is that although conscription rates are rapidly decreasing, motivation has not changed dramatically among those who are not ultra-orthodox. Motivation has been found to be higher among male believers than among non-believers. The reverse was found to be true of females. The highest motivation for combat service is found among teenagers from the kibbutzim (collective settlements) and moshavim (cooperative settlements).