A growing number of Israeli youth are securing exemptions from IDF service due to emotional or mental health issues, the Knesset State Control Committee was informed Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Amir Vadamni, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate's Planning and Personnel Management Division, told the committee that "the numbers of exemptions from military service are going up steadily, reflecting the Haredi community's growing segment of the population, and the most worrying data is about the number of exemptions issued for mental health problems."
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In 2018, 7.9% of all potential recruits received exemptions for medical or mental health reasons. In 2019, that number rose to 9%. The projection for 2020 is that 11.9% of potential recruits this year will have received exemptions on medical grounds or for reasons of mental health.
Translated into numbers, some 2,000 potential recruits this year were exempted on physical or mental health grounds before even enlisting. Since the percentage of exemptions for medical issues has not changed dramatically, most of the increased exemptions are issued on grounds of mental health issues.
Vadamni presented an analysis of the data and told the committee that "The generation of recruits has changed its profile and there is high awareness of psychological evaluation that was not common in the past, but there is social [also] social legitimacy for not serving in the IDF. The ethos of service is being eroded."
'An industry of exemptions'
In effect, the numbers presented above indicate that one out of every eight potential recruit in 2020 will have been exempted from military service. This is in addition to the 16% of potential recruits who claim exemption as yeshiva students, meaning that one-third of Jewish youths do not enlist in the military. Of those who do enlist, 11% do not complete their service and are discharged early
Vadamni stressed that "there is an industry of issuing exemptions from military service. Pay 1,500 shekels [$460], and you're released. There is growing social legitimacy to not serve, especially not in combat roles."
Ariel Ben-Yehuda, head of the IDF Medical Corps' Mental Health Division, said, "Currently, soldiers meet with an IDF psychologist within a week [of asking to]. Availability has not been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and has even increased somewhat, because we transitioned to distanced treatment in the early stages of the crisis."
Committee chairman MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid) called the numbers of exemptions being issued "nothing less than horrifying."
"The army of the people is collapsing before our eyes. The numbers of exemptions on mental health grounds is approaching the percentage of Haredim who don't enlist because they are in yeshiva, and one-third of potential male recruits simply will not be serving in the military. Where is the government? Not doing a thing," Shelah said.
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