The Changing Face of the IDF

For most of Israel’s history, religious soldiers were a minority in the IDF. Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) did not serve at all, a large number of religious Zionists served for less than the standard three-year tour of duty, and religious Jews were underrepresented in the officer corps. All of this has changed over the last years, with the proportion of religious Jews among both soldiers and officers rising dramatically. Skeptics have warned that the shift could lead to problems, but so far such that has not been the case: