Liberation From The Army

For men and women repatriated after May 2015

The law on military service obliges all permanent residents of the country to serve in the army, including those who have dual citizenship.

If necessary, the IDF can issue you a document stating that service in the Israeli army is compulsory for all residents of the country, and you cannot refuse to complete it.

The Israeli army is reducing the service life of those who served in the army of another state. For official recognition of service in the army of another state and shortening of the service life in the Israel Defense Forces, it is necessary to present the documents proving this (original and copy) and a photo of the conscript in military uniform.

An immigrant who served in the army of another state for at least 18 months before coming to Israel, and this service was recognized and credited by the IDF, is called up to serve in the reserve for up to 6 months. This rule does not apply to doctors and dentists.

According to the definition of the IDF, “children of immigrants” – are the children of Israeli citizens, who went abroad for cohabitation with their parents at the age of 16 years. Children of Israeli citizens living abroad are subject to conscription into the IDF according to the following rules:

1. The right of deferment from service in the IDF is granted to persons under the age of 16 who left Israel with their parents to live abroad.
2. Female daughters of Israelis who left the country are exempt from military service if they return to Israel for permanent residence at the age of 20 years, provided that they did not stay more than 120 days during a calendar year in the country as tourists. When moving to Israel for permanent residence at the age of 21 years and above, they are not considered “subject to mobilization.
3. People who left Israel before the age of 13 together with their parents will be “bound” to their parents up to their 18th birthday, respectively, if their parents return to Israel as permanent residence, before the age of 18 they will be considered to be subject to mobilization; after the age of 18 they will not lose the status of “emigrant children” and the right to deferral.
4. People who left Israel with parents over 13 but under 16 years of age will be “bound” to parents under 21 years of age when they return to permanent residence, respectively, if their parents return to permanent residence in Israel before the age of 21, they will be considered to be subject to mobilization; after the age of 21, they will not lose the status of “immigrant children” and the right to deferral.
5. People who left Israel at the age of 16 years or older are considered “subject to mobilization” on general grounds. When they return to their permanent residence, they must find out from the nearest recruiting office which rules they are to be mobilized under.

The following periods of temporary stay in Israel are not taken into account when establishing “mobilization” status for Israeli children living abroad: – Single stay of up to 1 year – multiple visits of less than 120 days per year.

Each request for exemption from military service is considered separately. However, there are some general rules.

Exemption from military service for women

Women are exempt from military service for the following reasons:

• Following a religious lifestyle
• marriage
• pregnancy
• childbirth

A woman who wants to be exempted on the basis of observing a religious lifestyle must apply to a special commission, presenting a certified certificate from the rabbinical court that:

• keeping to tradition does not allow her to serve in the army
• a woman observes the laws of religious cooking (kashrut) in and outside her home
• the woman does not use transport on Saturday.

Girls who have received exemption from military service for religious reasons can voluntarily enter the alternative civilian service (sherut leumi), where they perform various social work: caring for children and the disabled, working in hospitals and charities institutions, etc. According to existing laws, young men can also be called up for alternative service, but in practice this is rather difficult to do.

If the marital status of the repatriate has changed during the period between his arrival in the country and his appearance at the recruiting station (marriage, birth of a child, etc.), his term of service will be set in accordance with his marital status at the time of conscription. Therefore, you should immediately inform the recruiting office about the change in marital status.