While her ultra-Orthodox brothers believe in the slogan “We will die rather than enlist,” Sarah will begin basic training on Tuesday, after which she will be assigned to an electronics project in the IDF’s ICT and Cyber Defense Directorate.
“Military service was my childhood dream,” she told ynet. “It was something I really wanted. I just thought it was no longer relevant for me, also because I am almost 23. But it happened. I am setting out on this path and I am really, really happy.”
About a year ago, Sarah left the Haredi world for good. To avoid hurting her family, she asks to reveal only part of her story.
“I grew up in Bnei Brak until age 22, the eighth of 11 children, in a classic Haredi home influenced by the Lithuanian stream of ‘we will die rather than enlist,’” she said. “I studied at a Beit Yaakov school and then, of course, in a seminary.”
“My decision to leave the Haredi world had been years in the making. Over the years, I had doubts, and at 18, I understood that Haredi life was not the lifestyle I wanted. For four years, I went back and forth, and a year ago I really left religion.”
For those unfamiliar with the community, what made you hesitate for years?
“It took time until I really took the step because it is a step that has consequences. The Haredi world is full of stigma, beyond actions. When you make such a decision, you need to know that it will have consequences in existential matters. That is why it took time until I understood that I was no longer willing to live a kind of double life, and not live as who I want to be and what I want. Then I really left religion. By the way, I do not believe in absolute black and white. I think there are other ways. I went out to search, as they say. Today I do not observe anything, but I am not an atheist. I am more just living my life.”
Many people who leave the Haredi world live for a period as “anusim,” externally behaving as Haredim while in practice no longer observing Torah and commandments. One reason is economic hardship. Some Haredi parents do not provide financial support to children who abandon religion and could influence other family members to do the same.
Because the Haredi education system does not prepare its graduates for the labor market, many who leave face financial hardship that makes it difficult to begin a new life, including enlistment in the IDF.
“As for Haredi parents who do not provide support, I do not want to generalize,” Sarah stressed. “But many Haredi families really do not support. In my case, there was a period when I wandered a little until I worked and found an apartment, and at that stage people from the Hillel organization, which helps people who leave religion, also helped me.”
How did they help you?
“I participated in a program that helped me cope with the difficulties and also learn about the possibility of serving in the IDF. I had almost zero knowledge about the subject. I wanted to know because I am not in favor of approaching something without preparation, so I would really not fall between the cracks and so I could feel that I was doing something meaningful. After I understood that I had the possibility of serving, the first step was to cancel the exemption from military service that I had received at 17. After that I understood that a pre-army program could help me.”
How did your family react to the decision to enlist?
“I did not hold a discussion with anyone in my family about the fact that I was enlisting. I simply set a fact.”
In September 2025, Sarah joined the Geva pre-army program in Tel Aviv, operated by BINA and Merkaz Ma’ase under the Ofek Council, an umbrella organization for 55 half-year pre-army programs. Over six intensive months, participants undergo a personal and group journey meant to prepare them for meaningful military service.
Police remove anti-draft protesters in Bnei Brak, archive
(Video: Amit Huber)
Yossi Malka, CEO of the Ofek Pre-Army Programs Council, said more than 90% of graduates go on to combat and command roles.
“Sarah’s story illustrates the strength of the half-year pre-army program model, which attracts young people from different backgrounds who find common ground in the program,” he said. “Sarah is a young woman rebuilding her path and devoting herself to meaningful service with a set of tools and values that prepare her for service. This is the opportunity Ofek programs provide: turning intention into action and raising a generation that leads with responsibility and a true connection to Israeli society.”
“Another 22-year-old woman and I were the oldest in the program,” Sarah said with a smile. “I was like a mother to the 18- and 19-year-olds. It was an interesting experience because at first there were gaps, but once you let go it is really an amazing experience. In the end, we came for a shared goal. It was an insanely meaningful half-year because of the knowledge and values I received. I filled many gaps in a range of fields, and it absolutely helped me reach the army much more prepared and calm. There are people who think you do not manage to do much because it is only half a year, but in my view it is short and to the point. A half-year pre-army program is six extremely intensive months. You experience everything there, just in a shorter time.”
But how can people who leave the Haredi world finance half a year in a pre-army program?
“Because it is a program also intended for people who leave religion, there is a social worker there who helps. I, for example, did not pay for the program, and the National Insurance Institute provides income support for people leaving religion, because you need to start from zero. When there is a dream, the hardships are not what will stop me.”