The right to serve
The right to serveFlash 90

Yitzhak Rabin, 18, wants to enlist to the IDF, but the IDF does not want to enlist him.

The unique story is reported by daily newspaper Yediot Aharonot.

Yitzhak was born in Jordan to an Arab Muslim family, two months after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. His parents decided to name him after the slain leader.

The decision was reported by news outlets worldwide, but the Jordanian street was hostile toward the family, despite the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel. After suffering abuse at the hands of locals, baby Yitzhak and his mother were allowed to emigrate to Israel, for humanitarian reasons.

Leah Rabin, the prime minister's widow, “adopted” the two and helped them in various ways, but when she died, they found survival difficult.

"I feel completely Jewish and I want to enlist,” Yitzhak told Yediot. “All of my classmates have received the first call-up order [for enlistment to the IDF] and only I have not. My mother cannot read or write, and I have to take care of myself. So when representatives of the [IDF] Enlistment Bureau came to my school, I decided to talk to them. They asked for my details and said it would be taken care of. Since then, I have understood that they do not want to enlist me, and I do not understand why.

"I have been in Israel since I was a baby,” he said, “and I have no connection with the family in Jordan. I keep mitzvot and keep the Shabbat. I was certain that I have a blue [Israeli] ID card, but then my mother told me that the matter had not yet been arranged. It's ridiculous.

"I want to reach the rank of officer and continue in the path of Yitzhak Rabin z”l,” he added. “I want to contribute to the country in a way that would cause Yitzhak and Leah Rabin to be proud of me.”

The young Yitzhak Rabin's mother told the daily that her family in Jordan wants no contact with her. “All my friends are Jewish women. We are completely Israeli and we love the country. My son is completely Jewish, he goes to synagogue every Shabbat.”

The mother's lawyer accused the Ministry of Interior of “torturing” the mother and son.

The Ministry of Interior said in response that the two had been accorded temporary resident status on humanitarian grounds, and are therefore eligible for all of the rights of Israeli citizens. Their request for permanent status is currently under review. Regarding enlistment – the Ministry said it is awaiting a letter from the IDF.

The IDF said that it has not yet received a request from Rabin to enlist, and that when it receives such a request it will be examined by the relevant people.