On Friday, Jan. 7, Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would submit a proposal to increase the number of haredim drafted into the Zionist army.
A group of 40 religious men have joined the Israeli Air Force. The men have reportedly received training in areas such as aircraft maintenance, mechanics and the arming of fighter jets and helicopters.
A special situation report presented by the Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of the Jewish New Year reveals that at the end of 2006, Israel had 7,116,700 million citizens living in its territory.
In a recent essay, Yaniv Itzkovitch, writer for Yedioth Ahronoth, put into words the feelings of an increasing number of young secular Israelis who are avoiding army service.
Half of the IDF's young combat officers are religious Jews, according to statistics published as the lead story Sunday in Maariv, Israel's second largest daily newspaper.
