I came to Israel 3 years ago and attempted for 2 years to enlist, I was older than most, 32, but in good shape, and with lots of maritime experience. Here is my conclusion, Israel is smaller than it was once, there is better technology today, and most people in the IDF do nothing for 3 years, 90% are jobnicks and the rest spend their time training and riding the bus back on forth to base. When was the last time Israel used the full force of its army? 1973 maybe. Like everything in Israel, the Army is a Private Clubhouse.

Get undeluded, Gabe. Tel Aviv is in 52nd place. Tel Aviv = 52nd place. If you ask anybody "where is the left wing in Israel concentrated"? the answer is Tel Aviv. 52nd place. You don't want the kipa sruga guys calling the shots? Then get your kids motivated. Democracy is as good as the participants, and I'm pissed as hell that the "leftists" have given up on social democracy and instead are most concerned with their lattes, gay pride parades and marching in protests instead of joining political parties and fighting for social justice. I don't know where your politics lie, but there is no delusion to the FACTS that Tel Aviv is 52nd in IDF service, and that the left wing is disappearing from the Knesset because nobody is voting for them anymore. Instead of calling me delusional, ask yourself what you can do to bring social democracy back to the national agenda and save the left from itself.

The IDF should adapt the US Army concept and pay there soldiers a few thousand dollars a month and there officers should get double or triple. If you pay an enlisted soldier (draftee) NIS7000 and officers more than NIS20,000 a month you would eliminate that problem. The US Military learned 40 years ago that conscription doesn't work, so the IDF has to entice it's citizens to serve and the only way to do that is through fair compensation that is equal to what they would earn in the civilian world. Right now it is amazing how they continue to motivate soldiers on a $100.00 a month salary which is not enough for a decent restaurant in Tel Aviv. Israel is a wealth country with some of the highest taxes in the world. It can afford to pay it's soldiers more money.

Airmen and Marines and Coast Guard come mostly from smaller cities and towns and rural areas. That is why a military draft is needed with national service as an alternative for conscientious objectors. Israel has that, but America needs it.

While I 100% agree with you that the Druze sacrafice is over looked, their enlistment rate, elite units they serve in, officers, and overall dedication. These finds however are based upon geographics, and were meant to serve as a warning/wake up call for the dangerous direction center cities/ultra orthodox cities are headed in.

camps if they do not enlist at the age of 18. Religious, non religious,Jewish, non Jewish, male or female. Even if the women are pregnant to get out of serving or married. Those that did not serve should lose their driver's licenses, be thrown out of schools of higher education and pay half their salaries to the I.D.F. Take away their right to vote, sit in the knesset or work in government. Those of us who contributed to the defense of Israel should not feel like we were suckers(friem).

sleep worth a damn. Its constant stress..24/7 I live in Canada, where those two sons of mine were born. I tried to talk it out of them but they wouldnt listen..so I bite the bullet and try to make the best of it. My late dad survived Auschwitz and he fought in the war of liberation in 48. I wanted to enlist when I was 19..he wouldnt hear of it. Today my sons his only grandkids are serving. I know what you are going thru.I know exactly what you are going thru. What gets my goat is that Israelis in general are assholes who appreciate nothing and no one. That burns my ass more than anything.

For the record, Scott, we are not part of the "mini-Israel" in Palo Alto. Neither I or my wife is from Israel. We are not yoredim. We just raised our children to love Israel. We are not even religious.

Exodus 15:3 says HaShem is a man of war (battle). They want eternal life, so they are returning to their ancient homeland which is saving faith for Jews and reflects the Torah in their hearts to protect what God gave to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For supernatural protection, they must obey the Torah as best they can and eat a clean foods diet and pray and fast. They are working in the IDF for their Master Hashem, not the ones in Israel who are unworthy of their sacrifices.

Brian - either you didn't read the article or you don't know your geography. Assuming that Tel Aviv is reflective of left abandoning army is, well, reflective of your ignorance. The Central District had the highest recruitment (all those l-i-b-e-r-a-l cities around Tel Aviv); Maccabim-Reut also has solid left voting patterns, not to mention many of the other top cities. So, in short, take your ranting elsewhere. Its repetetive and boring, and adds nothing to anyone's understanding.