Either draft everyone, or exempt everyone. I'm sick of this crap. Is it any wonder secular motivation to be drafted is dropping? The government is incompetent, the Haredim sit at home all day and have babies like rabbits while we die protecting them! I want to see some JUSTICE in this country for once! And don't all you apologists start bringing up Nahal Haredi and other tiny minorities who serve in the IDF, because they're such a tiny fraction that they're insignificant. Draft EVERYONE! (Including the bleeding heart Tel-Avivim) גיוס לכולם!!!!

So the 50% of combat officers who are religious will continue to rise- as will the percentage of religious combat soldiers. With G-d's help, the IDF will soon be infused with Jewish values as it should be, and consequently, many of the halachic and philosophical problems that presently exist will disappear.

Is it any wonder that this is happening when we see the quality of leadership in gov't. & in the IDF? We are becoming a society of losers - and it affects not just the IDF but also aliyah & our support among Jews in the Diaspora. Contrast this state of affairs with post-1967 when we were perceived as winners. From personal experience, I can tell you that the 1967 war inspired in me a life-long committment to Israel even if it took 40 years for me to make aliyah. But who is inspired today?

They're there to protect the State. And when the State = Olmert + rest of the Knesset, it's not surprising nobody wants to defend it.

What has happened is that you are viewed as losers who do not even want to defend yourselves. American Canadian Jews look at you as schnorrers with an attitude problem. The Jews want a winner...Be that winner and you will have friends, otherwise well say a kadish for you and you'll be quickly forgotten. Its that simple!

When the government will use them for what they are meant to be used: Defending Israel from its enemies, the motivation will increase, as #5 mentioned. In the last few years, the IDF was basically used to harm their fellow Jewish brothers and destroy their homes, communities and livelihood. Any wonder the number of volunteers has reached the lowest point in four years and the number of draft-dodgers, the highest? If you want to see some justice in this country , start with the corrupt "High" Court and Knesset.

is not exactly terrifying, especially compared to all other Western countries. It could easily go up again. If it keeps going down down gradually, I'd get worried, but I'd give it time. Of course the incredibly weak and corrupt "leadership" that Israel has now is not inspiring people, quite true. When Shimon Peres says it's better to emply 150,000 Pals. in the territories than to bring 15,000 Jews here on aliyah, he's saying that just around the corner we'll turn into Belgium and there will be no need for any values at all except money and personal hedonism. This old, worn-out, tired, mentally empty "leadership" has to be thrown out, and soon. It's troubling that people like Peres, Rabin, Olmert, Sharon, Barak, etc. emerged from their richly Zionist pasts with no backbone, no values, no message except for the inane message of making peace with terrorists. I don't quite know why that is, why it's so bad.

first of all...i am sure haaretz is ecstatic about this ..they crow about this daily...second...the IDF seems to have become an army of liars and truth twisters...draft dodgers are people who actually and actively avoid going to do service...so these people they call draft dodgers are mostly youth that the army wholesales out of service..they recieve the deferals without so much as a whimper...the army hands out the deferals as if there will be no tomorrow...the army is to blame...but they pass the blame onto the people who they exempted ...and as olmert and company feverishly rob us of billions to build the bomb shelter for themselves...they send our kids as human sheilds to further their own filthy careers and send them to war with out equipment...questioning our right to exist here doesnt seem so far fetched anymore with these people in power

if everyone would do his duty , i'm talking here about the yeshiva "students" there would certainly be more motivation to join combat units . Why should seculars and National Religious go to fight , while those "students" stay at home ? Now you Robert . Most of those great men have given very much to our country , but you and your alikes only usurpate this country , that's the truth .