You're in the Israeli Army Now

Almost every morning in August, the courtyard of the induction center of the Israeli Defense Forces at a base near Tel Aviv is filled with 18 year-olds waving flags, pounding drums, and saying goodbye to parents and friends. Military service is a kind of rite of passage for young Israelis, so the atmosphere is more like freshman orientation than Full Metal Jacket. Instead of a bulldog drill sergeant screaming "Eat my shorts, son!" the new troops are shown a short film to relive their anxieties about giving blood and DNA samples, or getting their hair cut and uniforms measured. "It's your big day," says a pretty young soldier/actress. "Your first night without mama."

As with any large national military, induction into the IDF (which collectively includes the army, air force and navy) is a broad exercise in social engineering. For about a year before they enlist, Israeli teenagers are put through a battery of physical and psychological tests to determine if they are fit to serve and the jobs for which they are best suited. The military tries to match that data with the personal preference of each individual draftee, so that by the time of their first muster, they know if they'll be digging ditches, driving tanks, or doing kitchen patrol.

But for the standing army of the Jewish state, it's a particular challenge to create esprit de corps from such a diverse body of citizens. Not only are women drafted as well as men (and serve side-by-side in some 88 percent of IDF units), and not only are gay Israelis allowed to serve in the military, but Jews in Israel hail from all over the world -- Russia, Ethiopia, Hawaii -- and may speak little if any Hebrew. The Israeli army is also open to (but not compulsory for) the country's non-Jewish citizens -- Arab Muslims, Christians and Druze -- though few besides the Druze sign up. But its precisely because of such diversity that the IDF has historically played an important role in shaping Israeli national identity, military service being one point of common ground in a country where almost everything is contested. "They come here from all over the world, and then pretty soon you can't tell them apart," said Lt. Colonel Gil Ben Shaul, deputy commander of the draft process.

But the social role of the military has changed over the years, as Israeli society has drifted from its egalitarian, collective roots. Just as Israel's leadership has shifted from a kibbutz-born generation of military men towards those with business backgrounds and the corruption scandals to prove it, many young Israelis have taken a less idealistic and more careerist approach to the military. They jockey to get training in valuable skills, or work family connections to get into elite units, which, like prestigious fraternities, help them build social contacts and job opportunities out in the real world. And the changing role of the military since 1967 -- from campaigns against standing Arab armies to sticky counterinsurgency operations in Lebanon to the occupation in the West Bank and Gaza -- hasn't exactly helped morale either.

Moreover, the fastest growing parts of Israeli society are those that are exempt from military service: Arabs and ultra-Orthadox Jews. (Many ultra-Orthadox don't recognize the legitimacy of the man-made state of Israel, and are waiting for God to do the job himself.) By some tallies, only 56 percent of young Israelis now join the military. Because Arab and especially ultra-Orthadox birth rates are much higher than other Israelis, military service could soon become a minority experience.

To increase the social and financial desirability of military service, the Israeli government recently started issuing special color-coded cards to veterans: gold for those who served in combat units, silver for safer field work like intelligence, and bronze for support jobs. Theoretically, the holders of these cards will be able to revive tuition discounts and maybe tax breaks. But this being Israel, so far no one can agree what these benefits should be.

--Andrew Lee Butters/Tel Hashomer