Society & Minorities
Service for Arab citizens
Arab citizens should stay exempt from any compulsory military or civilian service.
Arab citizens, about a fifth of the population, have been exempt from conscription since 1949. Gadi Eisenkot wants to bring them into a universal obligation.
What is at stake
Arab citizens, about a fifth of the population, have not been called up since 1949; civilian service is open to them but voluntary, and few sign up. Gadi Eisenkot proposes a universal obligation — military, national or civilian — that would include them.
The case for
- An exemption based on which nation you belong to is exactly what is held against the yeshiva exemption.
- Civilian service unlocks grants, housing schemes and public-sector jobs reserved for those who served.
- An obligation every citizen carries removes the two-tier character of Israeli citizenship.
The case against
- The obligation would come from the state fighting the war against Palestinians. That is a demand for loyalty, not equality.
- Rights should not depend on service. Tying grants and housing to it penalises those who refuse.
- Voluntary civilian service already exists. Making it compulsory creates a confrontation where a wider offer would do.
Both sides get the same number of points at comparable length. That is a rule of this site, not a coincidence.
What the next Knesset could decide
The Knesset, through the Defence Service Law. Any universal draft runs through the same statute that covers the yeshivas, which ties the two debates together.