IDF refusal

The price tag of opting out of the IDF - opinion

Switzerland has long maintained that citizens who do not serve in the military pay a special compensatory tax to the state.

HAREDI MEN protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an IDF draft order, in May 2026.
HAREDIM BLOCK a road to protest the arrest of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, near Bnei Brak, on Monday.

IDF should conscript Arabs to serve instead of haredi draft dodgers - opinion

 An illustrative image of haredi residents of Jerusalem's Ramat Eshkol neighborhood.

Haredi daycare bill: What is it and why should we care? - explainer

 An Israeli soldier operates during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024.

IDF reservist soldier who refuses to continue serving in Gaza speaks out


How does IDF reservist protest impact potential strike on Iran? - analysis

There has been a sea change in how the IDF conceives of a potential strike on Iran’s nuclear program.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant seen on August 1, 2023

IDF should be above politics; reservists must serve - opinion

People of goodwill, by and large intuitively, cringe at the idea that pilots and other reservists can decide whether they will continue to show up for reserve duty.

 A FATHER kisses his son after the soldier completed a military drill.

IDF reservists refuse to serve – but I'm ready to serve anytime - opinion

As I watch thousands of reservists declare that they will no longer serve, I am saddened to see military service become politicized to the extent it has been

 HAVING BEEN unable to serve in the IDF, the writer serves in a different way – dishing out watermelon to soldiers on active duty.

Israel can't use short-term solutions for long-term problems

NATIONAL AFFAIRS: Enough of apportioning blame, enough with the dire descriptions of the country’s state and where it is going.

 PROTESTERS BLOCK the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv Monday night during a demonstration following the Knesset vote on the contested bill that limits Supreme Court powers to void some government decisions.

My Word: Law and disorder

The morning after the law passed, turned into “the mourning after” for the anti-reform and anti-government camp.

 A MAN wearing a T-shirt with the slogan ‘We are all brothers’ blows a shofar near the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, calling for unity with the anti-reform demonstrators.

IDF: Still ready, but process of harming readiness started

IDF Chief of Staff Halevi stressed, "In the midst of this instability, the IDF must maintain its responsibility."

IDF reservists sign letters stating they will not show up to reserve service anymore.

IDF chief calls on reservists who quit over judicial reform to come back

The IDF had threatened sanctions on reservists who refused to serve in protest over judicial reform and the reasonableness standard bill. Now, the IDF chief appeared to offer amnesty.

 IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem on July 18, 2023.

Another 10,000 IDF reservists announce they won't serve anymore

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief Herzi Halevi will reportedly meet to discuss the issue on Sunday.

 10,000 reservists announce that they won't serve anymore in protest of the judicial reform.

Hundreds of Air Force officers stop reserves service in judicial reform protest

The reservists warned that the reform will turn Israel "from a democracy into a dictatorship."

An Israeli Air Force F-35 during Operation Breaking Dawn, August 2022

IDF chief: 'Refusing reservist duty harms IDF, Israel's security'

The IDF chief said, "The connection between the IDF and the committee is important, it is an important opportunity to present a situation assessment and the state of readiness," of the IDF.

 IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi speaks at event for outstanding soldiers as part of Israel's 75th Independence Day celebrations, at the President's residence in Jerusalem on April 26, 2023.