Open Search form

National Service (Sherut Leumi)

Apply for a Blog

Feb 11, 2026, 12:08 PM

Has Israel’s Security Model Become Its Weakness?

Israel in 2026 is grappling with land disputes, ongoing security threats and painful failures, food-security vulnerabilities and dependence on foreign labor as exposed in October 2023, and escalating violence between settlers and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. At the...

Feb 11, 2026, 10:18 AM

What I learned serving alongside Haredi soldiers

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldiers from the Hasmonean Brigade take part in a beret march after completing seven months of basic and advanced training, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old city on August 6, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

When an ultra-Orthodox platoon joined my reserve unit, I discovered what truly drives them to enlist — and why coercion misses the point

Jan 29, 2026, 3:30 AM

The Israeli Teenagers Building Up Society

I recently visited my daughter, a 19-year-old American in Israel, to see firsthand the unusual life she has chosen for herself. What I saw astounded me. Despite Israel’s existential threats, Israeli society feels alive, healthy, and hopeful to the...

Dec 12, 2025, 7:58 PM

The Haredi challenge and the future of Israel

On Thursday 30 October, hundreds of thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews flooded Jerusalem’s streets in a “March of the Million,” protesting against efforts to end their conscription exemptions and shouting slogans against the secular state. This act of protest is...

Oct 31, 2025, 5:44 PM

The Haredi Exemption: Entitlement Masquerading as Faith

AI-generated by Alan P. Gross

If Israel is to remain both Jewish and democratic, it must reaffirm a simple but sacred principle: every citizen shares responsibility for the nation’s defense. The founding generation—secular and religious alike—understood that freedom demands sacrifice. The ongoing exemption of...

Oct 28, 2025, 10:35 PM

A Sacred Religious Duty to Defend Israel

Jewish soldiers are celebrating the joyous holiday of Simchat Torah.

Despite waging wars and existential threats, we've seen a painful question once again pop up over recent months here in Israel. This issue is polarizing a nation that has all but been paralyzed by the past two years of...

Jul 9, 2025, 9:55 AM

The uneven burden of Military service in Israel

Wounded IDF soldier being medivaced to safety. Photo ©️A. Agronov , 2026

There are those that do and give, and those that don't and take. My name is Tuvia Book. I am a reservist in a combat medical extraction unit (Palmar) on the Gaza front. I've served now hundreds of days of...

Mar 26, 2025, 12:04 PM

Drafting the ultra-Orthodox is an act of survival, not a choice

Maj. Gen. David Zini, the head of the IDF’s Training Command (left), greets an ultra-Orthodox soldier drafting to the IDF’s new Haredi brigade, known as the Hasmonean Brigade, January 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel is no stranger to political crisis. In the last month, we have seen moves for the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet and attorney general, the resumption of the war in Gaza following the ceasefire, and...

David Rosh Pina

Mar 4, 2025, 4:34 AM

I Accidentally Sold My Soul Over a Cup of Coffee

Di Bella Coffee (Unsplash)

I used to get coffee in El Molino, a French pastry shop on Bograshov Street, but it became too expensive, and I got tired of being constantly confused with a time traveler. I started going to the Thai massage parlor...

Dec 24, 2024, 5:15 PM

How the IDF can subcontract yeshivas and resolve the Charedi draft issue

The Charedi military draft issue continues to divide Israel at a time when unity is more important than ever. The IDF is short of manpower. The vast majority of non-Charedi Israelis believe all parts of Israeli society should bear the...

Load more