QUOTE(rtkiii66 @ Jul 10 2006, 01:06 AM)
I usually go to the IDF website to track what has been going on with the troops in Isreal, the connection has now been refused for two days straight, this has never happened to me before, something is deffently up.
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I just got through for the first time and look what I found.
News
Foreign Volunteers Join IDF
Sunday 09/07/2006 16:16
By Daniel A. Greenberg
About 30 young Jews from around the world are being drafted into Israel Defense Forces today, Sunday, July 9, 2006. These young men have come to Israel from all points of the globe to volunteer in IDF. They will serve out their 14-month enlistments as normal, everyday Israeli soldiers, wearing the same uniforms and fulfilling the same functions as their Israeli comrades.
After three weeks at an army education base to learn about military service and improve their Hebrew, most of the volunteers will be sent to the Nahal infantry brigade for six months of combat training. The rest will be sent to other assignments, to serve Israel in other ways.
These 30 young volunteers, ranging in age from 18 to 23, have come from far and wide - from North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, even Puerto Rico. They differ from the average Israeli army conscript in a number of ways. Many of the volunteers already have university degrees or advanced professional training. All of them speak at least two languages - or three or four. And needless to say, all of these young people, whether they came for personal or altruistic reasons, are very enthusiastic about beginning their Israeli military service. Afterwards, some will elect to remain and build new lives in Israel. Others will return to the countries from which they came and resume the lives they left behind.
Several young women volunteers are also preparing for their draft later this summer. One, from France, hopes to join the Karakal combat battalion. Another, a commercial pilot from Canada, aims higher - she plans to join the Air Force with the hope of becoming a combat pilot.
The Mahal 2000 and Garin Olim programs, through which the volunteers are enlisting, hold several drafts each year.