[Jerusalem Post] Stuart A. Cohen - Israel is not in the throes of a military recruitment crisis. In fact, Israeli enlistment remains at extraordinarily high levels. It is true that rates of non-service in the IDF have been steadily increasing from 12% in 1980, to 17% in 1990, and to 24% in 2002. But most of that rise is due to the high birth rate among the ultra-Orthodox who are granted draft deferments to study Torah. In 1980, haredim comprised 4% of all potential recruits; today the figure is 11%. At the end of the day, the majority of youngsters, from all classes and societal segments, respond positively to the call to service - and usually enthusiastically so. That is a truly remarkable phenomenon. The writer is a professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University and a senior research associate at its Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies.
2007-07-31 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive