WATCH: Is the IDF the ‘great equalizer’ of Israeli society?

One of the foundational myths of the State of Israel is that regardless of one’s ethnic or socio-economic background, recruitment into the army was the way to create social mobility that would place everyone on an equal playing field.

Today, minority groups such as Ethiopian, Bedouin and Druze continue trying to integrate into society through military service. But it turns out that exclusion in Israeli society is more powerful than the military ethos, leaving many minorities asking why they should die for a state that excludes them from its culture, economy and educational system.

Related:
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Druze teen to Netanyahu: ‘I will not be a soldier in your army’