#conscription

Henry Glintenkamp (1887–1946), “Conscription”, 1917

I recently saw your post on legal rights in Israel for people of different ethnicities and I wanted to ask (from a place of ignorance):

Do Arab Israelis have the same opportunities and/or obligations as others for military service in Israel? I know that the exemption of (some?) Orthodox citizens from mandatory military service is a live issue in Israeli politics but not much else.

Thank you!

Arab Israeli citizens have identical opportunities to serve in the military, but have dramatically fewer obligations than Jewish Israeli citizens. Let's address each of those separately.

Opportunities:

Arab Israelis have the full right to volunteer for military service if they wish. Those who do serve receive the same training, ranks, and benefits as any other soldier. They can also volunteer for national-civil service (Sherut Leumi).

You might have heard of Arab Israeli Yoseph Haddad. Haddad was born in Haifa, lived in Nazareth, volunteered to serve in the IDF, served in the Golani Brigade (infantry), including as a platoon commander and sergeant...where those he commanded were mostly Jews. He has repeatedly said that he was very well respected in the IDF, and those who served with him have said the same. His military career ended in 2006 with shrapnel injuries. He now spends most of his time advocating for Israel and against Jew hatred.

Obligations:

Jewish Israeli citizens (men and women) are subject to mandatory military service - currently around 32 months for men and 24 months for women. This is a significant obligation that affects education timing, career development, and family planning.

Arab Israelis, by contrast, are exempt from mandatory military service. This exemption was established to avoid forcibly putting Arab citizens in the position of potentially fighting against fellow Arabs in neighboring countries.

However, Druze and Circassian citizens, who are distinct ethnic/religious minorities, do have mandatory service, similar to Jewish Israelis.

It's important to mention that this was not forced upon the Druze or Circassian communities.

In 1956, Druze community leaders formally requested that their community be subject to mandatory conscription, similar to Jewish Israelis. This was seen as a way to demonstrate loyalty and integration into Israeli society, and to gain equal standing as full citizens. The Israeli government agreed, and Druze conscription became mandatory that year. They are very well-represented in the IDF. There are Druze IDF generals and Druze Israelis seem disproportionately well-represented in elite units.

In 1958, Circassian community leaders petitioned to be included in mandatory conscription. Like the Druze, this was seen as affirming their commitment to the state and securing their status as equal citizens.

Arab Israelis have greater freedom of choice (serve or don't serve) compared to Jewish, Druze, and Circassian Israelis who have mandatory conscription. This is the opposite of discrimination, it's a reduced burden.

The Haredim (ultra-orthodox) exemption you mentioned is very contentious, but that's a separate issue involving religious study deferments, not ethnic-based policy. Originally, haredi men who were studying full-time in yeshivas (religious seminaries) got automatic deferments that became de facto exemptions - and this was only a few hundred people. The practice now exempts tens of thousands. The Israeli Supreme Court has ruled these exemptions illegal for violating equality principles and lacking any specific legislation. These exemptions are important to Haredi political parties, and play into coalition politics...and are important to Netanyahu's coalition.

From the April 15, 2026 essay:

Is the draft itself constitutional? Under Supreme Court precedent, the answer is yes. At the same time, the Roberts court has given significantly less weight to precedent than previous courts. ... The justices have repeatedly asked whether a contested practice is consistent with the nation’s historical understanding at the time of the founding. Approached genuinely, that framework poses a serious problem for conscription. ... There was no national draft at the founding. The generation that wrote and ratified the Constitution had direct experience with compulsory service, but it looked nothing like modern conscription. Colonial and early American governments required participation in local militias, which were designed primarily for community defense rather than sustained military campaigns.  ... When Secretary of War James Monroe proposed a system of national conscription during the War of 1812, the backlash was immediate and fierce. Critics argued that the federal government lacked the authority to compel individuals into national military service. ...