Q&A: Where to Go in the Army
Where to Go in the Army
Question
I come from a Haredi home and studied in a Haredi yeshiva. Over the last year I drifted a bit away from that community, but I stayed in the Haredi yeshiva, which is very good, and now I’m enlisting.
Should I enlist in the regular army with the religious and secular public, or in Netzah Yehuda and the like, since that’s the culture I come from? On the other hand, today I’m no longer Haredi, not even in dress, and certainly not in my views.
Answer
I think a religious framework is more comfortable. But which one—that’s a question you need to tailor to yourself.
Discussion on Answer
To Gabriel — I agree that a hesder yeshiva might perhaps be a better fit than Netzah Yehuda (though not necessarily, because sometimes a shared cultural background is more important than level of religious observance).
It’s worth hearing from people who know about the Haredi companies in Givati and the Paratroopers.
But regarding the last part:
1. My impression is that in the Armored Corps, the quality of manpower is better than in infantry.
2. “Jobnik” is a broad label that includes both quartermaster workers, cooks, and drivers, and also cyber and intelligence units, so it all depends on which kind of desk-job track you’re talking about.
Netzah Yehuda isn’t Ponevezh; it’s more Religious Zionist dropouts and Haredi “shababniks.”
If you come from a strong learning background, it probably won’t suit you.
If not, then it’s worth considering.
A hesder yeshiva could be a much better religious and educational track than Netzah Yehuda (if you don’t have an ideological problem with the Religious Zionist outlook).
In a regular track, there’s a high correlation between the intellectual and human quality and the difficulty of the unit—infantry soldiers will generally be more impressive people than those in armor or artillery, and those will in turn be several levels above a desk-job track.