Ynet and the leftists always say it is teh Hareidim that don't serve in the IDF so then that means that 50% of Israeli youth are Hareidi huh?

Perhaps these 'draft dodgers' are finally realising the futility of endless aggression and occupation. That is all israel has given the world - apartheid roads and ghettos, 500Km long WALLS, bulldosers and death. Perhaps the young people are thinking that there is an alternative. Living in a military state where everyone is under conscription is simply facist.

why is there a picture of chareidi youth when they only make up 25% of those not enlisting with the ARABS??? they at least have some form of excuse not that you have to agree with it but what about the other full 25% israeli kids excuse? why does the media and this country have to turn everything into another excuse to go after the chareidim! even if religious jews make up 25% of the population its still probably only half of those that don't join the army. so ynet stop trying to turn everything into onther reason to go after the religious

119 Israelis were killed in the war against a tiny group of Hizballah. For what? FOR NOTHING! Just to return the captured soldiers a few months later by exchanging them with murderous terrorists. Why should they enlist when Olmert's motto is: "...we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies…" Those who enlist are nuts! And guess what? That’s why Olmert wanted his sons outa here.

standards and that's thanks to the chareidim. Of course Simon TA and his brother Alan will find a chareidi here and there who don’t exactly conform to this. However, these are exceptions to the rules. Basically 99% of chareidim are the elite and the cream of the crop in Israel.

Olmert's kids are their role models!

No more excuses. Simple solution, all must do some sort of army or social service with the only exception being medical grounds or a major disability. This disability or medical grounds can go thru a panel of 3 or 4 doctors. It is ridiculous that only a portion of the country is liable for army service

If COL Sela and the government don't know how to solve this problem, they should be replaced. Come to think of it, that's not a bad idea anyway! And by the way, they are MEN and WOMEN, not boys and girls. I get really REALLY tired of seeing those who put their lives on the line being called "boys!"

Why did you have to show a picture of religious boys under the heading of this article. Are we to believe that the majority of the 50% of Israeli youth not enlisting are religous?? What about the relatively large proportion of religous youth that do serve and are highly prominent in the officers corps, golani, Nachal, etc? What about the growing number of non-religious, non-Zionist youth in Tel Aviv, etc. who (according to reports) constittute a growing number of draft-dodgers. Why this anti-religious incitement?

Ynet, you should stick to the statistical truth and tell us about the % of non-haredis evading army service and why?

Well stop allowing the ultraorthodox youth to automatically IDF enlistment or national service(for the girls). The handicapped youth of our society have legitimate reasons for not serving in the IDF because having them serve would jeperdize notonly their lives but their fellow soldiers as well, but the ultra orthodox have no such legitimate reason especially when they have special units for them to serve in!

The way it should be. if you serve you earn the right to vote To govt. benifits Passports UNEMPLOYMENT Educational funds for higher education Funds for your children. in short stop giving a free ride to blood sucking parisites!

With the frequent IDF bashing articles published by Ynet, why would any youth want to join the army. With our politicians castrating any positive action from the IDF and with a PM and a defense minister that only run away with their tale between their legs, why expect anything different. On top of that a soldier can expect to be dragged into one of our corrupted courts by Anarchists like Piece Now or one of the other draftdogging organizations. Thanks to our selfserving Herzelists at the top and the media they have been sucsesfull in destroying any motivation to serve and one can not blame them. Reading all the negativity that is coming from our media spinmasters, congrats, you are killing of secular Zionism faster then predicted.

Whether Haredim or arabs, all should serve the State of which they demand services back,

I object strongly to the photo showing religious men walking out of the army office. The article did not state that the number of religious men or women evading service is rising. In fact and in figures, that number is rising and it is well known that the religious are over-represented in combat troops and under-represented in higher officer corps. And I am sick of hearing "Oh we don't mean THOSE religous." State unbiased facts. The article quotes Sela saying, " girl who drives on Yom Kippur with an non-Kosher sandwich in her hand can come and request an exemption on religious ground and by law, I have to accept her claim," That is intentionally misleading. Does this actually happen or does it bother Sela that it is a potential? The only factual increase stated was for medical and criminal reasons. As a religious Jew who served as a combat medic, I feel that the secular government used me with no regard for my rights or opinions as a citizen. And they use the army statistics to demonize the religious jews when in fact more and more secular youth are shunning their army service. One of the conclusions that came out of the last war was that too many of the officers were chosen for their political stance rather than their ability. That is fine for Gush Katif. But when a real war came along, they were too busy calling their stock brokers to win the war. Candidates for officer training were asked if they would be willing to evict Jews from their houses if given such an order. A negative answer led to ejection from the course on grounds of unwillingness to follow orders. But it is political bias in selection of officers. When officers are selected for political views rather than ability, it is a sure thing we will lose wars.

You just love to hate religious Jews.

why would anyone in his right mind risk his life and serve under the leadership of these two criminally insane traitorous,pathetic cowards' olmert and barak people of israel get rid of these two traitors or else you will find yourselves without a country

of Israel when he dedicated the First Temple in Jerusalem long ago. That has not changed and youths who wrongly shirk military duty do not deserve Israeli citizenship. They are like American youths who let a few volunteers and mercenaries fulfill the military obligation of the youth of the nation. Half the US forces in Iraq were and are Blackwater mercenaries. There are many Blackwater mercenary troops in America, too, with a full fledged Blackwater military base in North Carolina. How do you think it makes the volunteer military feel to make far less pay and be subject to UCMJ that mercenaries are rarely charged under? For years the mercenaries were exempt from prosecution. Sir Winston Churchill said the problem with mercenary armies defending a country's interests is that it leads to civil war or a totalitarian government. That is what will happen to America eventually. That is what could happen to Israel unless the youths of Israel serve in the IDF or National Service as they must for the nation to continue to exist with its own government instead of foreign overlords.

Col.Tziki Sela does not want to also put a little truth in the failure to youngsters refusing to enlist.The IDF has become a pawn for politicians wishes.Civilians are now protecting the IDF,(eg Sderot) @nd Soldiers are used for evictions of jews in Israel???Why go to the army.

Every person who enlists in the IDF under the regime of Dictator Olmert and Coward Ehud Barach is volunteering to be kidnapped to be exchanged for hundreds of cut throat murderers if they are lucky enough to remain alive in the hands of hamas and hizbollah!

with the leaders that we have that show "vision" and "courage" and talk "honestly "to the people.........i would not want my childen to go into the army. the good days are over. MOFAZ RUINED IT ALL and it will take years to repair. VERY SAD, SCARY, DEPRESSING n DISGUSTING.

your picture of yeshiva boys as draft dodgers is real yellow journalism. as your article states the majority of boys avoiding the draft aren't from the religious sector.

You can not "force" a person to serve, but I see nothing wrong with instituting something like the US "GI Bill of Rights", where veterans receive help with tuition, mortgages with preferential terms & interest rates, additional points towards government housing assistance, etc. This should NOT be viewed as "discrimination", which has been used before as an excuse not to institute these incentives, but as a reward for those who give two or three years of their lives to serve their country. Those who serve Sherut Leumi would be eligible for the same incentives. I say this as a veteran of a combat unit in the IDF who received none of the above, but think that our soldiers deserve some extra consideration over those who duck their responsibilities.

Let's have a little honesty in reporting.

There is no way my kids (seriously contemplating to make their alyah) will enlist in Tsahal with pricks such as Olmert, Livini or Barak at the head of Israel destiny. It's a pure and simple suicide.