Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that the IDF has become the army of only half the people due to draft dodging.  In a speech at Tel Aviv University in memory of Israeli defense analyst Zeev Schiff, Barak called to “return to the days when dodging the draft was like bearing the mark of Cain on one’s forehead.”

“A soldier does not need to feel he’s being taken advantage of,” Barak continued.  “A soldier needs to run forward because he feels that the homefront has been breached.”  As a society facing existential threats, he said, Israel must honor those who defend her.