 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2024) |
The Israeli Security Service Law, also known as the Israeli Defense Service Law, regulates conscription into military service for citizens of Israel. The Security Service Law, enacted in 1986 and replacing the Security Service Act of 1949, [1] made conscription a national routine rather than only requiring military draft during national security emergencies.
Following the devastation of Europe's Jewish population during the Nazi Holocaust and coupled with the rise in Zionism since the 19th century, the United Nations General Assembly recommended the establishment of a Jewish state in the Middle Eastern province of Palestine. Following the declaration of its independence on 14 May 1948, the Arab nations of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq began to invade Palestine in an attempt to eradicate the newly formed state of Israel. On 26 May 1948, the Israeli Defense Force, or IDF, was established as Israel's official military. Formed out of the pre-1948 Jewish paramilitary organizations Haganah, Irgun and Lehi, the IDF was a conscription military divided into the army, navy, and air force branches. Immediately, the IDF drafted thousands of men into service to combat the invading Arab forces. The Security Service Act and later Security Service Law was passed in 1949 to regulate the recruitment into IDF service. The law has since gone through several revisions and alterations, most notably in 1959 and 1986.
The Security Service Law requires that all citizens of Israel, except those who qualify for the exemptions from service, to service in the various branches of the IDF. Section 2 defines the age appropriate for conscription, and set it at 18–29 years of age for men, and 18–26 for women, based on the Hebrew calendar. However, recruitment may begin at age 17 if the parents or guardians of the recruit allow it.
Section 3 through 12 gives the Israeli Secretary of Defense the authority to call citizens to medical screenings to determine if conscription is permissible.
Service for men is set at 36 months, however, recruits over the age of 27 are only required to serve for 24 months. Immigrants who arrive in Israel at the age of 27+ years are only required 18 months of service. (Article 15)
Service for women is set at 24 months, yet women may volunteer for an additional 12 months under section 16a. (Article 16)
Any soldier tried and found guilty by a military court or deserters who are returned to service are to have their service time extended to meet the requirements of regular service duty under Article 18.
The Security Service Law extends to cover conscription into the Israeli Border Police, or Magav, under Article 24.
Since 1995, section 24A regulated the transfer of soldiers into the Israeli Police Service, or Shaham.
In 2005, Section 24 regulated the use of IDF troops as Israeli prison guards.
Power is given to the Israeli Defense Minister to exempt citizens from service under Section 36.
Section 36A states that for regular service in the IDF, the age of the soldier shall not exceed 54 for men and 38 for women.
Section 39 exempts pregnant women and current mothers from service, also married women are exempt from regular service but not reserve service.
Article 40 provides the layout for what the military allows for religious exemption from service. However, this is the only exemption that may be enacted and revoked at any time by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Male Druzes are eligible for conscription into the IDF under the Israeli Security Service Law; however, a growing controversy is the exclusion of recruiting Muslim Israeli Arabs into service. This exemption originated in 1949 and was again continued after review in 1954 and has yet to be revoked.
With growing concern over the increasing populations of yeshiva students and Arab-Israelis being exempt from IDF service, the Tal Committee was formed in 1999 to discuss and attempt to find a solution as to how to induct these members of society into the military or National Services. It was noted that at the time there were potentially 30,414 Israeli ultra-Orthodox men who were exempt but capable of entering the military. The Tal Law developed from this committee and was passed on 23 July 2002. It called for 80 percent of yeshiva students to begin the process of entering into the services. Renewal of the law was placed in 5-year increments. However, it was met with great protest from yeshiva and political members for its entirety. In 2012 the Israeli High Court determined that the law was unconstitutional. Following the courts decision, the Plesner committee was formed to again attempt a new method for inducting these segments of the population into the IDF or national Services. Due to member complications the report was left in an indeterminate state with goals set for 2016 to begin the inductions for yeshivas and Arabs into the services required.
If a person attempts to dodge the draft by providing the state of Israel with false information, false medical recorders, mutilates their body or has someone else mutilate their body to avoid conscription, they may be charged and given 5 years in prison as punishment under Article 46A.
Conscription is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day under various names. The modern system of near-universal national conscription for young men dates to the French Revolution in the 1790s, where it became the basis of a very large and powerful military. Most European nations later copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1 to 8 years on active duty and then transfer to the reserve force.
The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and the Israeli Navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security apparatus. The IDF is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is subordinate to the Israeli Defense Minister.
Citizens of Israel have refused to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) or have disobeyed orders on the grounds of pacifism, antimilitarism, religious philosophy, or political disagreement with Israeli policy such as its occupation of the West Bank. Conscientious objectors in Israel are known as sarvanim which is sometimes translated as "refuseniks", or mishtamtim.
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
The Federal Republic of Germany had conscription for male citizens between 1956 and 2011. On 22 November 2010, the German Minister of Defence proposed to the government to put conscription into abeyance on 1 July 2011. The constitution, however, retains provisions that would legalize the potential reintroduction of conscription.
A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is usually a former active-duty member of the armed forces, and they remain a reservist either voluntarily, or by obligation. In some countries such as Israel, Norway, Finland, Singapore, and Switzerland, reservists are conscripted soldiers who are called up for training and service when necessary.
Hesder is an Israeli yeshiva program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces, usually within a Religious Zionist framework. The program allows Orthodox Jewish men to serve in the Israeli military while still engaging in Torah study.
The Tal Committee was an Israeli public committee appointed on 22 August 1999 which dealt with the special exemption from mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) given to Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews which had been the status quo from the time of Ben Gurion, as well as extending mandatory military service to Israeli-Arabs. The committee was appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Barak and was initially headed by former Supreme Court Justice Tzvi Tal. The committee was later headed by Yohanan Plesner before its official dissolution on 2 July 2012, two days before submitting its report, hence the term Plesner Committee.
The Sword Battalion, previously Unit 300 and also known as the IDF Minorities Unit, was an Arab-dominated military unit of the Israel Defense Forces. It predominantly enlisted Druze, who made up the majority in the unit until it was disbanded in 2015, though a sizable number of recruits were Bedouin and non-Arab Circassians. Men from the Druze and Circassian communities are subject to Israeli conscription laws, while Bedouin and other Arabs may voluntarily enlist for military service.
In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from 21 to 41 years of age. It is 6 months for all males regardless of education degree. Different rules apply to Turks abroad. For Turks with multiple citizenship, the conscription lapses if they have already served in the army of another country.
Since the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory in Israel. The draft laws of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) only apply to Jews, Druze, and Circassians. Because the Druze and Circassian communities are less populous, their women are exempted from mandatory military service altogether. Women from the Jewish community are not exempted, but serve for slightly shorter terms than their male counterparts. The IDF does not conscript non-Druze Arab citizens of Israel, though their men and women may enlist voluntarily.
Sherut Leumi is an alternative voluntary form of national service in Israel, as opposed to the mandatory military conscription prevalent in the country. It is designed for individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria for service in the Israel Defense Forces, or who hold conscientious objections to military enlistment. The program primarily was created for religious Jewish girls aged 17 to 24, although it is open to all applicants who cite diverse grounds for their decision.
Torato Umanuto is a special government arrangement in Israel that allows young Haredi Jewish men who are enrolled in yeshivas to complete their studies before they are conscripted into the Israeli military. Historically, it has been mandatory in Israeli law for male and female Jews, male Druze, and male Circassians to serve in the military once they become 18 years of age, with male conscripts required to serve for three years and female Jewish conscripts required to serve for two years.
Israel is one of only a few countries where military service is compulsory for all able-bodied female citizens. Under Israeli conscription laws, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) may draft recruits from three communities: the Jews, the Druze, and the Circassians. As the latter two communities are less populous, their women are not required to serve. Women from the Jewish majority are not exempted from the conscription laws, but serve for slightly shorter terms than male conscripts. All women who are exempted from the conscription laws may still enlist voluntarily. Jewish women who are called up for military service may apply for an exemption on humanitarian, religious, or certain legal grounds. Those who claim such an exemption will typically be redirected to Sherut Leumi, the alternative means of national service.
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.
The Plesner Committee, also known as the Commission for Equality in the Burden, was a committee established by the Government of Israel to formulate recommendations on the recruitment of Israelis to the Israeli Defense Forces, in particular the recruitment of Haredim and Arabs. The committee was established prior to the anticipated expiration of Tal Law which exempted yeshiva students from mandatory military service in the IDF.
In reserve duty, Israeli residents who have completed military service are assigned to the Israel Defense Forces' military reserve force to provide reinforcements during emergencies, and as a matter of routine course. Some reservists are assigned to the same units they served in during their regular military service, and some are assigned to dedicated reserve units.
In 2013, two independent protests occurred in Israel. In May, an attempt to change the Tal Law, which excluded ultra-Orthodox Jewish men for doing military service, led to protests by Haredi against military conscription. Again in November, Bedouins in the Negev called for a 'Day of Rage' against their displacement by the Israeli government to state developed townships as a result of the Prawer-Begin plan.
Conscription of yeshiva students refers to the conscription of Orthodox yeshiva students in Israel. Since 1977, this community had been exempted from military duty or national service. In 2012, service became mandatory with a penalty of imprisonment for up to five years for draft-dodgers, although that law has never been enforced.
The Jerusalem Faction is an Israeli Haredi political organization based in Jerusalem. It was founded in 2012 by Shmuel Auerbach as a reaction to the Bnei Brak-based Degel HaTorah's perceived moderate approach to the question of conscription of Haredim into the Israel Defence Forces by the Israeli government that came up following the expiration of the Tal Law.