On video: Ceremony for the exchange of commanders of the Nahal Brigade, June 28, 2021 (photo: IDF spokesperson)
Despite a decrease in the recruitment of minorities to the IDF in the past year, there was an increase in the relative share of those recruited among them for combat service - according to the data of the personnel division of the army. According to IDF sources, the general decrease in the recruitment of minorities is rooted in incitement against those among them who served in the IDF during Operation Wall Guardian. They attribute the motivation for combat service to a number of slow processes, including the work of the Home Front Command alongside the villages and communities of the minorities during the Corona period.
According to the data, in 2019, 501 members of minorities were mobilized, of which 249 were mobilized for the warrior track in combat units . In 2020, 561 members of minorities were mobilized, of which 299 were mobilized for the warrior track, which is 53% of them. In 2021, 476 members of minorities were mobilized in total, a figure that indicates a significant decrease, but of these, 292 were mobilized for combat service - which is 61% of them.
Army officials estimate that one of the main reasons for the decrease in the recruitment of minorities to the IDF stems from the incitement during and after the Wall Guard operation in May 2021. During the operation, social networks were filled with incitement, hatred and threats against members of minorities serving in the IDF.
On the other hand, IDF officials explain the increase in motivation to enlist for combat service through a number of processes that took place slowly. One of them is the positive discourse surrounding enlistment for combat, which increased the motivation to enlist in the combat units and special units.
The second process that caused the increase in motivation is the work of the Home Front Command in the villages and settlements of the minorities during the Corona period.
The continuous contact and constant activity in the different waves of the Corona virus led to the establishment of a project by AKA known as "Phase B", in which ultra-Orthodox and members of minorities between the ages of 20-40 went through abbreviated training and various content classes in the Hebrew language and then served in the reserves. From July 2020 until the last month they went The soldiers completed the training, and now 510 are serving in the reserves in the Home Front Command in uniform as explainers and assistants of the Paqar policy in emergency and routine situations.
In the last November cycle, 65 reservists graduated, including members of minorities, who routinely work as senior administrators in schools or senior and influential figures in the regional councils and villages also in the northern Golan Heights area who are not required to be drafted.
Some of them were mobilized in Operation Dawn and some of them are active under Division 210 in the Golan Heights.
Also, female teachers in the IDF give encouragement classes in the Hebrew language for cyber and technology subjects, and according to army officials, the fact that IDF soldiers come to schools in uniform creates a positive atmosphere towards the IDF.
"Recently there has been more interest in reserve courses and technological courses in the IDF "With an emphasis on the northern region and the Golan Heights in a way we have not seen before," said an army source.
"For us, the highlight was the moment when the commander of Division 210 received an invitation to come with a senior officer from the ACA to the school to open the school year.
It is a clear message that they want to get closer and are interested even if the process is slow and measured.
In the meantime, another source emphasized that despite the tensions that arose after Operation Wall Guard, Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi worked to convey a message to the members of the Bedouin community about their importance and contribution to the IDF, and recently awarded four ranks of lieutenant colonel to Bedouin officers in accordance with the high appreciation for their work on the fighting front.
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