Amid protests, calls for refusal to serve – IDF releases draft data
IDF highlights contributions of lone soldiers and new immigrants, as well as recruits hailing from preparatory military academies
Amid protests over the draft law among the ultra-Orthodox community on one hand calls for refusal among left-wing Israelis to protest the government, the IDF on Sunday published recruitment data for the March-April round.
Compared to the same period last year, the percentage of recruits from both sexes increased, the number of new immigrants and lone soldiers who enlisted increased, and the percentage of recruits from pre-military academies increased. Meanwhile, the percentage of recruits from the main Tel Hashomer draft office, compared to others, decreased.
The complete data
Out of those being drafted, 62.74 percent are men and 37.26 percent are women. This compares with the 2024 round at the same time, when 61.76 percent were men and 38.24 percent were women.
Regarding age across various IDF service programs, the average varied from just over 18 years old to just over 33. All in all, the average age was 19 years and three months.
The youngest new recruit in the 2024 draft was 17 years and nine months old, and the oldest was 29 years and eight months. The average age was 19 years and one month.
Out of the new recruits, 1,133 new immigrants will be drafted, of them 647 men and 459 women. Regarding lone soldiers, who serve without their parents living in Israel, this numbers 709, of which 391 are men and 318 are women.
A total of 46 new recruits have families directly affected by the October 7 massacre. They are among the 393 recruits who hail from communities surrounding the Gaza Strip.
In 2024, 883 recruits were new immigrants, of them 557 men and 326 women – 646 were lone soldiers, comprising 370 men and 276 women.
The percentage of recruits from preparatory programs and years doing voluntary service are 11.71 percent for men and 11.77 percent for women, with a total average of 11.73 percent. In 2024: this was 19.34 percent for men and 13.30 percent for women, totaling an average of 17.03 percent.
Where do they come from?
The countries with the highest number of new recruits are the United States, Russia, and Ethiopia, the same as in 2024.
Some countries boast only one immigrant enlisted in this current round: the United Arab Emirates, El Salvador, Angola, Armenia, Maldives, Dominican Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Vietnam, Tunisia, Taiwan, Morocco, Norway, Nicaragua, Serbia, Portugal, Kiribati, Kenya, and Sweden.
In 2024, these countries were: Bulgaria, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Luxembourg, Singapore, Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark, South Korea, Lithuania, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Cyprus, and Turkey.