The largest-ever induction of new recruits into the Israel Defense Force is now under way, due in part to the large number of draft-age immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
The August draft is generally the largest of the year, coming when the academic year ends.
The Israeli government does not disclose the number of soldiers serving in the IDF, nor the number of new inductees, for security reasons. But military sources note with satisfaction that the number of new recruits volunteering for crack assault units is also larger than usual.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
