The current study examines the relationship between Israel's social ethos and motivation for mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Based on extensive survey data collected from 2015-2023, it analyzes how national identity, perceived security threats, family influence, and socio-political factors affect service motivation among Israeli youth. The research reveals that despite recent social tensions, motivation for combat service in Israel has remained stable, with family traditions and community values serving as strong predictors of service attitudes. The findings highlight the continued centrality of military service in Israeli society while documenting evolving patterns in how different demographic groups approach their service obligations.

1. Introduction and Research Methodology

Motivation for service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has historically been characterized by fluctuations influenced by multiple factors, including personal achievement motivation, desire for social integration, perceived security threats, and educational background. While Western democracies have generally observed declining traditional motivation for military service over recent decades, Israel represents a unique case due to its stronger family cohesion and persistent security challenges that justify maintaining the "Citizen-Soldier army" model.

Recent years have seen Israeli society experiencing increasing tensions related to religion-state relations, political struggles, and security concerns from waves of terrorism. The protest movement that emerged in early 2023 against the Netanyahu government and its proposed judicial reforms led to unprecedented military-related protests, including refusal to serve in reserves and provocative acts by some youth tearing up draft orders.

Some argue these developments, particularly the social protests, have damaged the IDF's standing and youth motivation to serve, especially in combat roles. This research seeks to examine this claim by investigating the following question: 

What characterizes motivation for IDF service among Israeli youth today in the context of national and social ethos?

2. Research Methodology

Survey Data Collection

The research is based on surveys conducted with Israeli youth (ages 16-18) during 2015-2016, 2018-2019, and 2022-2023, with a total of 3,285 participants responding to statements related to society, security, religion, and state.

Distribution Method

Surveys were distributed through social media and "snowball" sampling between respondents, leveraging the high connectivity of youth populations who possess smartphones and are active on social networks.

Analysis Approach

Quantitative analysis was performed, examining correlations and multi-variable regression. Data was collected via Google Sheets with timestamps to allow for validation and detection of duplicates or biased responses.

The sampling methodology resulted in a 1.7% error margin at a 95% confidence interval, based on the 520,000 births in relevant years according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. This indicates high reliability of findings, further supported by correlations matching known patterns in Israeli society. A total of 227 samples were disqualified due to suspected duplication or data entry errors.

Research Limitations

The research primarily focuses on secular, traditional, and religious Jewish populations, with limited and non-representative participation from ultra-Orthodox Jewish and Arab communities. This is due to their consistent response patterns regarding military service, lower participation in social networks, and typical suspicion toward such research, especially concerning attitudes toward military or national service.

3. Findings

Participant Demographics

The study encompassed a diverse sample of 3,285 Israeli youth, primarily from Jewish secular, traditional, and religious backgrounds. Demographic analysis reveals a distribution that reflects much of mainstream Israeli society, though with limited representation from ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities.

The majority of participants came from central Israel (56%), with 24% from near periphery, 12% from distant periphery, and 8% from border areas. Gender distribution showed 51% female and 49% male respondents. Religious identification indicated 55% secular, 28% traditional, 12% religious, and 5% identifying as either ultra-Orthodox or non-Jewish.

Perception of National Ethos

The research reveals a consistent strengthening of national ethos among Israeli youth over the past decade since 2015. This national ethos is characterized by positive attitudes toward Israel's public sphere, the national anthem, symbolic holidays, government institutions, the IDF as a state institution, and flexibility regarding pillars of Jewish nationalism.

National Ethos

Strengthened consistently since 2015, characterized by positive attitudes toward national symbols, institutions, and Jewish nationalism.

Liberal Ethos

Shows fluctuating trends, returning to mid-2010s levels. Includes values of equality, social cohesion, and resource allocation prioritizing education and welfare.

Integration

Combines both national and liberal values, with youth showing distinct national perspectives alongside varying degrees of liberal values across different sectors.

Security Perception

Consistently high perception of security threats, with increasing consensus on this issue despite relatively peaceful period.

The liberal ethos also characterizes Israeli youth in the context of Israel as a democratic state where a large portion of the population lives with a liberal lifestyle—predominantly secular, with some rejecting religion entirely. Liberal values center on equality, social cohesion, willingness to allocate resources to education and welfare at the expense of the defense budget, integration of minorities in institutional platforms like the IDF, and inclusion of women in combat roles.

Analysis indicates that while national ethos has strengthened in the past decade among youth, liberal ethos shows fluctuating trends, returning to levels seen in the mid-2010s. Youth can be characterized as having distinct national perspectives alongside a mix of liberal values that vary across different sectors of society.

4. Levels of Agreement and Disagreement Among Youth

A significant finding of this research is the varying levels of consensus among Israeli youth on different societal issues. The level of disagreement is based primarily on the variance in responses to statements related to the topics appearing in the graph below (normalized according to the highest level of controversy).

Areas of Strong Consensus

Security threat perception shows strengthening consensus among youth over the past decade. This represents a remarkable finding given that today's youth have experienced perhaps the quietest security period in Israel's history: after the Second Lebanon War, with the northern border experiencing almost no security incidents, and in a decade when reserve duty mobilization was lower compared to previous decades. Yet these young people demonstrate high threat awareness, possibly due to traditional family perspectives or the strengthening discourse in recent years regarding the Iranian threat and its implications.

Motivation for IDF service shows a consistent trend relative to the previous measurement period, with a positive change compared to 2016. This suggests that despite social tensions, the fundamental willingness to serve remains stable among Israeli youth.

Areas of Significant Disagreement

Liberal and national perspectives show significant disagreement—based on high variance between respondents. The statements to which respondents were asked to respond indicate specific trends in various fields. The consistent and significant changes revolve around:

• The perceived threat from a possible Palestinian state establishment

• Maintaining the Knesset's sovereignty and freedom of political representation

These two statements show increased support alongside reduced variance between respondents. Also prominent are statements regarding the perception of security risks and willingness to change resource allocation for social prioritization. Despite increased variance in these dimensions, the overall response level is still high, representing the overall threat perception among youth.

Key Finding

The research demonstrates that while Israeli youth maintain strong consensus on security issues and military service, they show significant disagreement on social and political issues that reflect the broader divisions in Israeli society.

The consistent pattern that emerges is what researchers have long identified in Israeli society: security consensus alongside social disagreement. These disagreements primarily relate to economic, social, and political divides characteristic of Israeli society. The findings suggest that points of contention among youth characterize society as a whole, and given the finding of traditional family influence, youth may "inherit" perspectives from parents in these contexts as well, supporting the traditional claim that political stance formation at these ages is primarily derived from parental positions.

5. Variables and Correlation Analysis

Research Variables

SRVMTV - Combat service motivation - An ordinal variable representing the desire to enlist and type of unit, where 0=unwillingness to serve in the IDF, 4=desire to enlist as a combat soldier.

THRT - Perceived security threat level - An ordinal variable representing a weighted measure of fear of war, terrorism and hate crimes, Likert scale 1-6.

EDUC- Categorical variable - Parents' education level from high school to academic.

FATHSRV, MOTHSRV - Ordinal variables for the type of mandatory service of father/mother.

SOCIOECO - Ordinal variable - Family income level (assuming average gross of 11,000 NIS).

VOLVL - Ordinal variable - Level of community volunteering, student council, youth movement, service year.

RELIG - Level of religiosity - Ordinal variable, from anti-religious and non-religious to devoutly religious.

AREA - Residential area - Categorical variable: center/close periphery/distant periphery/border and conflict zones.

Correlation Analysis

The analysis revealed several prominent and significant relationships between variables:

The correlation pattern demonstrates clear influences of parents' military service, the relationship between military service and civic volunteering, the influence of residential area, religiosity and education level, as well as gender effects. Most of these relationships are not new and have been found in previous studies.

However, a significant correlation worthy of examination that was not found previously is the relationship between the mother's military service and her children's motivation to volunteer in the community—as opposed to the relationship of security motivation influenced by the father's service. This point deserves deeper examination as it may be that within the framework of traditional role division, Israeli society generally sees the male side as having a security character and the female side as having a social character.

6. Regression Model Analysis

The regression model examines the influence level of various variables on the motivation for IDF service in general, and type of service up to combat level. The model was found to be highly significant, with the age variable and parents' education variable found to be non-significant. All other variables were highly significant, except for threat perception which was at the threshold of significance (0.051) and is appropriate to accept in the overall view of research findings.

Variable Influence Strength (High to Low)

Gender

The strongest predictor of service motivation, with males showing significantly higher motivation for combat roles

Level of Religiosity

Strong predictor with traditional and religious youth showing higher combat motivation than secular youth

Residential Area

Youth from peripheral and border areas show higher motivation than those from central areas

Father's Mandatory Service

Father's service type strongly influences children's service choices

Mother's Mandatory Service

Mother's service influences children's service choices and community involvement

Perceived Security Threat Level

Marginally significant influence on service motivation

Service Motivation Trends

The findings present trends in motivation for different types of service. Several key patterns can be identified:

1. Increasing motivation for rear service - This category includes many women seeking national service, service year programs, and academic reserve service. This has shown consistent growth over the past decade.

   
   

2. Decreasing motivation to serve in general support roles in forward units - This is alongside growing demand for intelligence and cyber roles. This is a strengthening trend that is also expressed significantly in this research over the past decade.

   
   

3. Increase in motivation to serve as combat soldiers - This is an increase of a few percentage points, but at least within the margin of error in the sample, it can be said with high certainty that there has been no damage to motivation to serve as combat soldiers in recent years, including 2023.

   
   

The "Other" category indicates respondents who will not serve due to religious/health/conscience reasons. It can be identified that the percentage of respondents in this category is similar to previous years with no significant change in either direction.

Overall, the youth perceive the level of security risks as high (4.6 out of 6). Despite slight fluctuation throughout the decade, this level is maintained and indicates high and stable security awareness among youth.

7. Political Attitudes and Service Motivation

Political Attitudes of Israeli Youth

The political attitudes of youth have fluctuated over the past decade, though not dramatically. It is evident that among youth, the deliberation is primarily between right-wing politics and the center. The percentage of support for left-wing parties is generally low compared to others, and the tendency toward a right-wing political stance is stronger than the rest.

There was an identified decrease in right-wing identification during 2018-2021, with a return to the previous pattern in 2023. It is also worth noting that at the time responses were received for 2023, the right-wing government had been in office for six months, and according to the findings of this research, no damage to support for right-wing parties from the sampled population was identified.

This political positioning appears to correlate with family traditions, supporting the research's broader finding that parental influences remain strong in shaping youth attitudes toward both political and security issues.

Service Motivation Trends

One of the most significant findings of this research is that despite heightened social tensions in 2023, motivation for military service—particularly combat service—has not declined. In fact, a slight increase was observed compared to previous years.

Combat Service

Percentage of youth expressing motivation for combat roles in 2023, showing a slight increase from 39% in 2019

Intelligence/Cyber

Percentage interested in intelligence and cyber roles, continuing an upward trend over the past decade

Support Roles

Percentage interested in non-combat support roles, showing a decline from 24% in 2019

Other/No Service

Percentage who will not serve due to religious/health/conscience reasons, remaining stable compared to previous years.

An interesting finding is the lack of significant correlation between perceived security threat level and motivation for military service. In the past, threats served as a significant motivation engine in security contexts, especially among youth. However, research has previously found that social need also constitutes a consideration in willingness for military service.

The correlation table shows that between security threat and service motivation there is no significant relationship, yet between service motivation and community volunteering there is a significant relationship. This certainly indicates the rise in the weight of social involvement in motivation to enlist relative to the weight of the security threat.

Gender and Liberalism

Gender Differences in Service Attitudes

The research findings highlight the significance of the gender variable in multiple contexts. Women demonstrate higher security threat awareness and stronger identification with equality statements compared to men. This finding may connect to other research indicating that social consciousness among women is higher than among men.

However, women's motivation to serve, particularly in combat service, is low relative to men. It's interesting to note from this research that the more a woman serves in forward roles, the stronger and more significant her influence on the family unit in social contexts.

The trend of the IDF integrating more women into combat roles in recent years is well-known and controversially debated. According to this research's findings, women are not eager for combat service, and in general, service in the IDF does not appear for them as an obligation with the intensity it appears for men.

This issue, combined with more developed liberal perceptions among women, requires further investigation—how is mandatory service truly perceived among women? Where is the liberal characteristic expressed, whether within the IDF or outside it? And more broadly, what is women's position regarding service in combat roles?

Nationalism and Liberalism Coexistence

It is worth noting that nationalism and liberalism are not a "zero-sum game." Menachem Begin's conception, for example, of the balance required between nationalism and liberalism in Israel demonstrates that these values are not complementary values, nor do they come at each other's expense. This is a mix that shows that a national society can also be liberal, and that the connection "Jewish and democratic" that characterizes the State of Israel is not a contradictory connection, and certainly not impossible.

National Values

Israeli youth show strong attachment to national symbols, security awareness, and commitment to IDF service despite societal tensions

Liberal Values

Demonstrate support for equality, social cohesion, integration of minorities, and women's participation in all societal roles

Complementary Nature

Research suggests these value systems can coexist and complement each other rather than functioning as opposing forces

According to the current research findings, youth are characterized by the traditional perception that has existed in Israel for many years—there is broad and prominent agreement on security threats and the need to serve in the IDF, alongside prominent disagreement regarding some liberal values. It is evident that in 2023, youth are in a trend of increasing disagreement in social-liberal contexts.

We may be witnessing the familiar reality of security consensus alongside social disagreement related to the typical rifts in Israeli society, mainly economic, social, and political. It can be inferred from this research that the points of contention among youth characterize society as a whole.

Family Influence and Traditional Values

Consistent Israeli Tradition

The research findings point to distinct traditional patterns in youth's perception of reality in national and security contexts. The strength of the connections between family history and participants' willingness to carry these aspects to the next generation is very clear. The data may indicate continuity in the strength of the family unit, the transfer of values and perceptions from generation to generation.

The Father's Influence

The influence of the father relates more to national aspects, threat perception, and security motivation in the context of recruitment to the IDF. This is evident in the significant correlations between the father's service type and children's service choices, particularly for combat roles.

The Mother's Influence

The mother's influence is liberal and includes influence on statements involving social equality. This emerges clearly in correlations around the variables discussed: EQLTY represents identification with statements concerning social equality in gender and sector dimensions, and it can be identified that the correlation between it and the mother's military service is significant.

Another interesting data point is the significance and influence between the service types of both parents. These aspects form the basis for further research in the context of the Israeli family and all its connections in aspects of IDF service, and its implications for family culture in general and the creation of service-supporting values among children as value leaders for future generations.

The Enduring Family Unit

Parental Influence

Percentage of youth whose service preferences closely align with their parents' service history

Correlation Strength

Statistical correlation between parental military background and children's service motivation

Family Discussions

Percentage reporting regular family discussions about military service and national security. According to the present research, the Israeli family unit operates in the same traditional way of passing values from generation to generation, with the influence of family moods in the field of security and society—parents' behavior and their influence on children—a traditional perception in the style of "the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children." However, it is noticeable that "the deeds of mothers" can also enter as an interesting equation, and at the end of family influence, it can be said that Western post-modernism has at least less influenced the value of family in Israel.

This intergenerational transmission of values regarding military service represents a significant continuity in Israeli society that appears resistant to the social tensions and political divisions that have characterized recent years.

8. Conclusions and Future Implications

Key Findings Summary

According to this research, Israeli youth are in a heightened state of security threat awareness, are greatly influenced by their parents, and are willing to volunteer for the community and serve in the IDF in high and stable numbers from a perspective of almost a decade. The social protest in the past year, according to the findings of this research, did not affect the willingness of youth to enlist in the IDF, but it may well have affected national and liberal perceptions that are expressed in intensifying disagreement in contexts of social conflicts.

Stable Military Motivation

Despite social tensions in 2023, motivation for combat service has remained stable or slightly increased, contradicting concerns about declining service motivation.

Strong Family Influence

Parents' military service experiences strongly influence their children's service attitudes, with fathers shaping security perspectives and mothers influencing social values.

National-Liberal Balance

Israeli youth demonstrate strengthening national ethos alongside maintained liberal values, suggesting these value systems can coexist rather than conflict.

Heightened Security Awareness

Youth maintain high security threat perception despite living in a relatively peaceful period, influenced by family attitudes and media discourse.

Future Implications

The vast majority of participants in this research belong to the secular sector in the State of Israel—a sector that has been claimed to be undergoing cultural change in contexts of religion and nationality.

According to the findings of this research, even secular youth have intensifying national perceptions alongside the preservation of liberal values—this finding may indicate that the secular sector in Israel in general is not under the spread of post-modernism, which includes denial of values of tradition and nationality, and in addition, this youth is also characterized by high motivation for service in the IDF.

The question is what will materialize at the end of the military service of this generation? Will military service, as in the past, alleviate social conflicts and existing disputes? Will the IDF in the coming years constitute an effective socialization mechanism that moderates conflicts and unites youth?

These questions become increasingly important as Israeli society faces growing political polarization and social tensions. The IDF's traditional role as a melting pot and social integrator may be tested in new ways as it absorbs a generation that has witnessed unprecedented levels of internal social conflict.

The Israeli social fabric continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience through its intergenerational transmission of national values and service ethos, even as it navigates complex political and social tensions. The continued high motivation for military service among today's youth suggests that the core mechanisms of social cohesion remain functional despite increasing disagreements on liberal and social issues.

This research ultimately suggests that while the specific expressions of national identity and service motivation may evolve over time, the fundamental place of military service in Israeli identity formation remains strong. How this generation integrates their military experiences with their increasingly diverse social and political perspectives will significantly shape Israeli society in the coming decades.