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IDF expects draft pool decline next year By Yuval Azoulay Tags: IDF The number of Israelis joining the Israel Defense Forces is set to decline starting next year, in keeping with the decline in enrollment in state schools, the main source of military recruits. The IDF attributes the expected drop to a decline in fertility rates in the early 1990s and to the rising popularity of ultra-Orthodox schools at the expense of others. According to IDF estimates, in 2009 nearly a quarter - 24 percent - of draft-age Israelis will be in Haredi institutions, with 59 percent in state schools and 17 percent in state religious schools. In comparison, in 1992 these figures were 9, 71 and 20 percent, respectively. Advertisement The head of the IDF's Planning and Personnel Management Division in the Human Resources Branch, Colonel Ziki Sela, will present this army forecast at a conference of the Israel Teachers Union. The expected decline in the draft pool comes at a time when the IDF is coping with a rise in the number of draft-age Israelis who choose to avoid induction. According to IDF figures, 27.7 percent of draft-age males did not enter the army in 2007. That rate is expected to approach 30 percent by 2012. In response, the IDF intends to continue its battle against draft evasion and make it harder for recruits to obtain a release from service. In the past year the Medical Corps has revised its protocol to prevent the release from service of critical personnel by stiffening the requirements for a waiver on mental-health grounds. One of the most visible signs of the battle against draft dodgers was the well-publicized prohibition against performances at IDF-associated events by musicians and other artists who did not serve in the army. The next target in the IDF's sights is the ease with which a draft-age girl can obtain a release from service, simply by signing and mailing a declaration stating that she is a religious Jew and therefore exempt from the draft. The Human Resources Branch is readying legislation that would require every applicant to report to her local induction center for a thorough interview aimed at screening out pretenders. Additional weapons in the IDF's pro-draft arsenal include an educational campaign for high school students and the "drafting" of celebrities popular with teens, as well as legislation that would bar draft evaders or those discharged dishonorably from holding jobs in public administration or from driving a bus or taxi. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Death penalty Iran hands down death sentence to man who spied for Israel. Robot hospital The place where IDF treats droids wounded in the line of fire.

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