The leftist group New Profile has launched an ad campaign aimed at encouraging Israeli teens to avoid army service. Teens have “the responsibility to choose a life course through which we can contribute”—a responsibility teens ignore if they join the army because they “have to,” the group said.
The New Profile ads point out that when Israeli Arabs are included in the statistics, most Israeli teens do not complete their IDF service. Therefore, they argue, other teens who choose not to join the army should not feel badly. The ad campaign includes testimonials from parents who support their children’s choice not to enlist, including a speech from one mother who says her son’s extreme-left activism is “his way to contribute and influence, and no less legitimate.”