Orly Struk Says National Service Has Become a Wartime Asset and Is Being Upgraded

Minister of Settlement and National Missions Orly Struk said in an interview with Channel 7, during National Civil Service appreciation week, that the program has become much more relevant since the war began. She said volunteers are serving in the Defense Ministry, the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and, as of last week, the National Security Council, as well as in roles connected to treating the wounded, supporting bereaved families, and helping reserve families. Struk said that when the war broke out she signed a special order allowing volunteers to be moved from permanent assignments to temporary emergency roles based on Israel’s needs.

Struk also described a reform designed to better match each volunteer to the right post. According to her, the system now gives female volunteers empowerment that “builds them for the rest of their lives,” and the revamped placement process is supposed to fit assignments to each volunteer’s wishes, skills, and abilities. She acknowledged there were problems early on, but said the reform was implemented for the first time this year and will become even more accurate next year. “Our goal is that national service will be a service that answers the needs of the State of Israel as the State of Israel defines them,” she said.

Under a new layer called “Service Plus,” her ministry is adding spiritual, religious, educational and Zionist enrichment through study sessions and activities in midrashot and other frameworks. Struk said this involves 3 to 4 meetings a week tailored to each volunteer. She called it a support tool that helps young women get through the demanding service period and continue into later life.

She also said the ministry is creating a more state-oriented framework for national service, including official recognition for families of volunteers who died during service. Measures will include the national service emblem on the tombstone, support throughout mourning, and budgets for commemoration and tribute. Struk said she worked with MK Pnina Tamano-Shata on regulations to extend benefits for female volunteers without family support, similar to those given to lone soldiers, after coordinating with the National Insurance Institute, the IDF and Minister Israel Katz. The rules were approved last week in the Labor and Welfare Committee. Struk ended by saluting volunteers who, she said, give far beyond their formal duties with professionalism, excellence and “a big heart.”