Exemption from military service in Israel is covered by the Israeli Security Service Law, which regulates the process of Israeli military conscription. Per the law, an Israeli citizen who is drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) may be exempted if an evaluation finds them to meet specific criteria. The IDF's conscription laws only apply to three communities: the Jews, the Druze, and the Circassians. Both men and women are drafted from the Jewish community, whereas only men are drafted from the Druze and Circassian communities.
Grounds for exemptions are expatriate status, medical or psychological issues, conscientious objection,[1] [2] [3] and criminal record (subject to review). Additionally, female Jewish draftees can be exempt due to marriage, pregnancy, motherhood, or religious commitments, including observing dietary and Sabbath travel laws, in accordance with §39 and §40 of the Security Service Law.
Under a special arrangement (Torato Umanuto), male Haredi students who were issued a draft notice could be granted a total exemption from service so long as they remained enrolled at their yeshiva for religious studies. In June 2024, Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Haredi Jews were eligible for compulsory service, ending nearly eight decades of exemption.[4] The army began drafting Haredi men the following month.[5]
Additionally, Arab citizens of Israel (who constitute about 21% of the Israeli population) are also exempted from military service. This exemption does not originate via Israeli statutory law, but is instead based on the guidelines of the IDF Human Resource Department, issued under the IDF's discretionary powers pursuant to the law.[6] As a result, Arab Muslims, Arab Christians, and Bedouins are not conscripted,[6] though all of them may still serve voluntarily. Among Israel's non-Druze and non-Circassian minorities, the Bedouin community has been notable for their voluntary contributions to service in the IDF.[7] [8]
According to 2007 IDF figures, the largest single group of young (Jewish) Israelis who avoided conscription consisted of women who claim exemptions on religious grounds. This group made up 35% of all women eligible for the draft. Amongst males, the overall percentage of non-participation was 27.7%. This figure included 11.2% for Torato Omanuto, 7.3% for medical and psychological grounds, 4.7% because of criminal records and 4.2% because of residing abroad.[9] In 2014, the law changed such that the majority of the Haredi Jews were no longer exempt from the military service. Another law change to grant exemptions again was contested by the High Court in 2017. This ban on exemptions has now theoretically come into force but a lack of government action means nothing has changed in practice.[10]
By 2020, about 32.9% of men and 44.3% of women received exemptions from IDF service, and an additional 15% of men dropped out before completing their term of service.[11] Of those who received exemptions, some 44.7% were Haredim, 46.6% were secular, and 8.7% were religious Zionist.[11] There was a noted increase in exemptions granted for reasons of mental health.[11]
Accordance with section 36 of the Security Service Law, the security minister may exempt certain people from an army service in the IDF, for reasons related to the volume of the military forces or reserve forces, or for reasons related to educational needs, settlement needs, security needs, economy needs, family needs and various other reasons.
In accordance with section 5 of the Security Service Law, a medical board is authorized to determine if a candidate is unfit for national security service.
In 2005, 32.1% of the Jewish women did not enlist in the military on religious grounds, and the overall rate of non-enlisted Jewish women has risen to 42.3%.[12] These high rates indicate that refraining from the draft is relatively common, at least among Israeli women. In 2008, the proportion of women who did not enlist rose to 44%, from which 34.6% did not enlist on religious grounds. As a result, the Israeli military tightened the way it handles cases in which Jewish women request an exemption on religious grounds, through investigating the truthfulness of their claims, in order to expose young women who lied about being religious.[13]
Section 94 of the Security Service Law describes another method of draft evasion: defecting from the military on the day of recruitment. When a soldier fails to show up to be recruited he is defined by the military as a draft evader. After being defined as a draft evader, an arrest warrant is issued against him and thereafter the military police is responsible for locating and capturing him. After being caught by the military police, it would be decided whether the draft evader would go through disciplinary proceedings (which means that they would get a limited punishment and not a criminal record), or whether he or she would face a military court where the punishment is not limited and the criminal conviction is registered.
Draft evasion is a criminal act and condemned by the majority of Israelis. Among the strongest opponents to the Israeli government policy, a few people support draft evasion, but they are a minority in the Israeli public. After the 2006 Lebanon War media campaigns were organized against draft evasion and to promote enlistment, especially in combat units. Head of Human Resources Elazar Stern and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were particularly vocal on this subject:
Israeli celebrities and public figures who evaded the draft in their youth (mostly before they became famous) have been condemned.
An individual's military service is usually a topic of discussion in many job interviews in Israel, and is information job seekers usually would add to their resume. Nevertheless, in 2003 the Regional Court in Tel Aviv declared that the requirement of military service as a precondition to be hired for a position constitutes discrimination and is forbidden if military service is not relevant for that position.[17] The Israeli Equal Opportunities Act (חוק שוויון ההזדמנויות בעבודה) was revised in the mid 1990s[18] to prohibit employers from asking candidates about their military profile in the IDF. Nevertheless, legally there is as yet no prohibition against questions regarding an individual's military service or the fact that they did not enlist in the military - information which might be used later on as part of the many considerations which would contribute to an interviewer's decision not to hire the individual.In the years since the Equal Opportunities Act was revised, and despite the changes in the Israeli public regarding military service, there is still largely a negative attitude toward those who have not served in the IDF. As an example, a substantial proportion of the employment ads in the newspapers state explicitly that only candidates who have carried out "full military service" will be considered for that position.
In June 2023, blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students expired. This meant that the IDF could conscript anyone eligible for military service, including ultra-Orthodox citizens. Right before the expiration, a cabinet resolution passed that extended the no-draft policy for another 10 months, while it decided on how best to proceed. After the October 7th attacks, the government failed to pass any subsequent laws regarding conscription exemption. Subsequently, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petitioned that the lack of exemption should result in enforcement of conscription of ultra-Orthodox Israelis. In June 2024, the Supreme Court of Israel declared any continued exemption of IDF conscription unlawful.[19] In July 2024, the army began drafting 3,000 Haredi men.[20]