In the midst of the war, and against the backdrop of a continuing shortage of soldiers, the IDF examined the possibility of recruiting children of foreign workers living in Israel, as reported by Channel 12 News.
In the first months of the war, advanced contacts were held to promote a joint pilot between the IDF, the Population and Immigration Authority, and the Tel Aviv Municipality, which would enable the recruitment of approximately 100 children of foreign workers. The pilot, which was supposed to be launched about a year ago, did not materialize and was stalled following the resignation of the Director General of the Population and Immigration Authority.
According to the Authority, at the beginning of the year, 3,752 children of foreign workers aged 15-25 lived in Israel. Approximately 3,200 of them hold temporary resident certificates. According to the Security Service Law, foreign citizens whose permanent residence is in Israel can be recruited, a figure that provides the potential for recruitment on the scale of an entire brigade.
Despite this, the army has so far refrained from implementing the option, due to concerns about a conflict with the powers of the Ministry of the Interior regarding the status of temporary residents. Since military service may facilitate the naturalization process, the army's position was that there was no room for conscription of this population without comprehensive regulation.
The Population and Immigration Authority responded: "The issue of conscription is under the responsibility of the army." The IDF responded: "The IDF is acting in accordance with the directives of the political echelon."