While IDF officials are concerned with draft dodgers, there are other contributory factors to the low number of inductees, including lower birth rate during the years of children who would now be of draft age as well as a drop in the number of draft-able new immigrants. The draft year beginning with next week’s induction appears to be low, perhaps the lowest in some 20 years.

The drop began some four years ago, now reaching 12%, cause for alarm for the new chief of the army Human Resources Branch, Major-General Avi Zamir, who just replaced Major-General Elazar Stern a number of days ago. Military officials explain the main shortage will be felt in the homefront and support units, those units that provide the backbone logistical support to combatants.

Army officials are also disappointed that females overall have not opted to take advantage of the fact that today, they too may be combat soldiers, reporting that over the past decade, only 2% of the female inductees opted for a combat unit.

On an aside, despite adamant opposition by rabbonim from the Hesder Yeshivas and the IDF Preparatory Yeshivas, the women were introduced into combat units, in no small part due to the tenacious efforts of Elazar Stern, who is affiliated with the National Religious Camp, who also worked towards the elimination of the Hesder units in the hope of mainstreaming the Shomer Shabbos soldiers who opt to serve in a frum combat unit, removed from many of the halachic problems posed to frum soldiers in so-called regular units.

In the upcoming August induction, 67.9% of the inductees have indicated a desire to serve in a combat unit, a slight increase from August 2007 when that number was 67.3%. Last May’s induction showed the highest motivation, registering 70% of inductees wishing to enter combat service.

Among those wishing to serve in combat units, the biggest demand remains for the Golani Brigade, with three inductees vying for every available slot.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)