Not enough soldiers
Report: IDF Considered Drafting Children of Foreign Workers in Late 2023
Documents revealed by Channel 12 show that in the early months of the war, senior discussions took place on launching a pilot program to recruit roughly 100 children of foreign workers. The initiative was intended as a targeted response to the acute shortage of soldiers, particularly combat troops.
As Israel’s war stretches on and manpower shortages deepen, new details have emerged showing that the IDF seriously examined recruiting children of foreign workers living in Israel, only for the effort to stall amid bureaucratic hesitation and political caution.
Documents revealed by Channel 12 show that in the early months of the war, senior discussions took place between the IDF, the Population and Immigration Authority, and the Tel Aviv Municipality on launching a pilot program to recruit roughly 100 children of foreign workers. The initiative was intended as a targeted response to the acute shortage of soldiers, particularly combat troops, but it never materialized and was ultimately frozen following the resignation of the director general of the Population and Immigration Authority.
According to official data, at the beginning of the year there were 3,752 children of foreign workers aged 15 to 25 residing in Israel. Around 3,200 of them hold temporary resident status. Under Israel’s Security Service Law, foreign citizens whose permanent place of residence is Israel may be drafted, creating a theoretical recruitment pool roughly equivalent to an entire brigade.
Despite this legal framework, the IDF has so far refrained from moving forward. The central concern has been a potential clash with the Interior Ministry over authority and status, since military service can ease the path to naturalization. Within the army, the prevailing position has been that conscription of temporary residents should not proceed without a comprehensive policy decision by the political echelon.
The Population and Immigration Authority responded that conscription policy falls under the army’s responsibility. The IDF, for its part, said it is acting in accordance with instructions from the political leadership. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the issue had not yet been presented to him and would be addressed if and when it is.
Behind the scenes, pressure has been building. Law firm Warsha and Weitzman submitted multiple appeals to the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate on behalf of children of foreign workers who wish to enlist, arguing that existing law already allows their recruitment even without Interior Ministry approval. In October, the matter was formally referred for professional review, though no decision has yet been announced.
Supporters of the move argue the case is both practical and moral. With the IDF facing a shortfall of thousands of soldiers, many of them combat troops, advocates say recruiting young people who grew up in Israel would ease the burden on reservists while strengthening social cohesion. They point out that many of these youths were born in Israel, speak Hebrew as their only language, attended Israeli schools, and have no real connection to any other country. At the same time, the state cannot realistically deport them.
A senior source familiar with the discussions described the situation as a “win-win” that remains stuck in limbo. “These are young people the state doesn’t deport and doesn’t draft,” the source said. “That creates a vacuum. Instead of service and integration, some end up drifting into crime or marginalization. The army approved the idea, but it’s being blocked elsewhere.”
The human cost of the delay is evident in the stories of those waiting. Nineteen-year-old Noam Surmeida, born in Israel to a Filipino mother, says Hebrew is the only language he speaks and that all his friends are serving in uniform. He wants to enlist in the Armored Corps. “I was born here. I grew up here. I want to contribute like everyone else,” he said. “It hurts to feel like I don’t belong.”
Ashley Casao Lev, also 19, was born in Israel and lives in Bat Yam. She says the war only strengthened her desire to serve. Fighting back tears, she described feeling invisible to a system that otherwise treated her as Israeli throughout her childhood. “I don’t see myself as different from anyone else,” she said. “I want to give something back. I won’t give up.”
For now, the proposal remains suspended, caught between legal authority, political caution, and an urgent national need. As the war continues and the strain on Israel’s manpower grows, the question of whether these young people will be allowed to serve is becoming harder to ignore.