Attorney Beni Dor, a former commander of the IDF enlistment center, says parents and draft candidates should be fully transparent with the military, especially during a period of exceptional strain on the system. In an article published on June 25, 2026 at 08:00, he argues that the war that began on October 7, 2023 has reshaped enlistment and left many families anxious about how to deal with the draft process.
Dor says parents are usually the ones who handle enlistment issues, gather documents, and protect their children’s rights, while many 18-year-old conscripts do not fully understand the consequences of what they disclose or conceal. He says the most common mistake is trying to “beautify” medical or mental health problems in order to improve assignment chances. His advice is to tell the army the full truth, because placing a conscript in a role that does not match his or her physical or psychological abilities can create dangerous situations for the soldier and also harms the army.
Dor also rejects requests to invent reasons for exemptions. “If someone asks me to ‘make up’ reasons for exemption, I make clear immediately that I am not the address. Absolutely not,” he says. He says his advantage is understanding the military system from the inside, including how it evaluates requests, and that his role is to bridge gaps between a conscript’s abilities and the IDF’s expectations.
On broader enlistment issues, Dor says Haredim must serve and argues the army, as the state’s implementing body, must be prepared for that reality. He also notes that most legal consultations come from men, since women are not assigned to combat against their will, while men may still be placed in combat roles that do not fit them. His main practical advice is not to wait until the draft date or even until the first recruitment notice, since IDF procedures can take months or more than a year. Families should raise personal, family, medical, or psychological difficulties as early as possible, collect complete medical documentation, and speak the military’s “language” rather than trying to improvise or mislead it.
