Although the United States has abolished their Draft for the military, it is common in other countries throughout the world to have Draft enlistments for their citizens when they reach a certain age, or it becomes necessary to draft to do rising tensions and beginnings of wars. The State of Israel, is no exception to this draft. Due to constant ever growing tensions in the Middle East, Israel has a constant draft law, which states that once citizens reach the age of 18, they are required to serve in the military for a minimum of twelve months, and varies depending on age and gender, according to Nefesh B’Nefesh, an online draft service based in Jerusalem.
Running in a few circles, people tend to carry a bit of animosity about the fact that these young adults are drafted to serve and fight in the military, and feel as though they are being forced to risk their lives for a cause that they might not want to fight for. However what may come as a shock, is that a large percentage of IDF drafted soldiers are not born Israeli citizens.
In an interview with the Israeli Defense Force spokeswoman Lieutenant Libby Weiss in 2014, Israel has one of the largest number of Americans serving in its military. In the interview she also stated that the IDF had roughly 1,000 Americans who had never lived in Israel who ended up serving.
I feel as though an angle that hasn’t been focused on yet, is in the lens of the American-Israeli who decided to go serve in a country they never lived in, and where this nationalism comes from.
Hadas Bar-Ad is currently serving in the IDF, she enlisted in September. Despite the tough hours and intense training she has every day, she “works harder every day proudly fighting for a country that is always fighting for freedom.”
Among Hadas, I am also going to be interviewing a two friends of mine since childhood, who both were born American citizens and still chose to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces, Sherrie Feldman and Yahav Sinay. Sherrie is currently working as an officer making sure there is everyday safety in the towns and cities in Israel, while Yahav has been out of the IDF for a few years now, and is now living in Brooklyn, NY.
What is going to come out of these articles is definitely going to be incredibly interesting and rich interviews, all full with very complex conversations from young adults who feel so strongly about their love for Israel. I think it will give a very interesting angle in the controversy that is always hovering around the IDF.