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The Turning Point
In the late 1990s, a turning point occurred that changed the face of National Service in Israel.
The success of The Association for Volunteering encouraged additional entrepreneurs who established non-profit organizations (Amutot) and offered National Service pathways.
By petitioning the High Court of Justice, they demanded and received approval to participate in government tenders for volunteer positions within government frameworks. The High Court's decision to officially allow them to operate changed the nature of the volunteers – among these organizations were some that also recruited non-religious girls who could not serve in the IDF, boys who were rejected for enlistment by the IDF, and young women from the Arab sector.
The public discourse also shifted. More and more voices were heard in favor of opening additional National Service pathways that would be recognized by the government. The echoes of this discourse reached the government table during the tenure of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He initiated the establishment of a governmental National-Civil Service Authority for all young men and women who could not serve in the IDF – and not just religious girls. In preparation for its establishment, the Authority's directorate worked to prepare its organizational infrastructure – through joint dialogue with six non-profit organizations that offered National Service frameworks.
The turning point also permeated The Association for Volunteering. Yaron Lutz, who was then Deputy CEO, led a historic move that changed its character. He understood that the Association could no longer be a closed club exclusively for religious girls and initiated the establishment of separate pathways for secular girls, boys who could not enlist in the IDF, and young people with disabilities.
Opening these new channels was not easy. The members of the Association's Board of Directors, all Religious Zionist individuals, found it difficult to accept the change in direction, as did many of the Association's employees. But Rabbi Zephaniah Drori, as the Association for Volunteering's guiding figure, gave his blessing to the move, convinced his colleagues to agree, and the channels were opened. A few years later, Rabbi Drori astonished his colleagues when he also gave the green light to open a special system for recruiting young men and women from the Arab and Druze sectors. The Rabbi, who lives in the Upper Galilee and serves as the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, told his colleagues: "I have Arab neighbors, and they are citizens just like you and me. If they are willing to do good for the state, it is our duty to give them the opportunity."
When Yaron Lutz was appointed CEO of The Association for Volunteering, he expanded its National Service frameworks. From then until today (2023), for over two decades, the Association has served as an organizational framework for National Service volunteers from all segments of the Israeli population.
The Association for Volunteering, the founder of National Service, is the leading and largest among eight non-profit organizations engaged in this work. Alongside it operate smaller organizations dedicated to various population segments. All these organizations are subject to government supervision through the National-Civil Service Authority.
The Authority grants National Service a formal governmental seal. It makes it present in Israeli reality and maintains an official channel to which any young man or woman who has received an exemption from military service, for any reason, can apply.
"These young people," says Reuven Pinsky, CEO of the Authority, "provide solutions for national goals of the State of Israel. Thanks to National Service, more Haredim are in the workforce, more Arabs are integrated into Israeli society, and people with disabilities receive equal opportunity even if they did not serve in the IDF."
Reuven Pinsky
, CEO of the National-Civil Service Authority since 2019.
The Authority is subordinate to the government, and although it is not a political body, National Service throughout its history has also been linked to politics.
More on this in the next chapter: (by clicking the link).
"National Service and Politics"
ירון לוץ, מנכ"ל
And these are the chronicles of National Service and the story of The Association for Volunteering in 7 chapters. Each chapter is on a separate link:
The full story of National Service is based on the book : "The Association for Volunteering - Fifty Years of National Service".
Written in Hebrew and published in Israel Published by The Association for Volunteering (NPO). 2022.
Research, writing, and editing:
Shlomi Rosenfeld
