The ‘Iron-swords’ war has led to a situation in which every citizen is required to contribute his best to the war effort. If you thought that this was only reflected in the Jewish sector, you should look again, since the data shows that this is a general Israeli phenomenon: On 7/10, after all, Hamas terrorists were targeting Jews, but in practice they aimed at any Israeli resident whom they found, without any interest in his origin or religion. Among those who fell on the first day of the war were dozens of Bedouins, as well as many Thai workers.
The Bedouin have always had a higher percentage of recruitment than the general Arab population (yet still significantly lower than the public percentage), and the IDF has opened dedicated units for them, such as different sets of scouts. Since the outbreak of the war, the demand for recruitment and combat roles among the Bedouin sector has increased by a factor of 2 and 3, and the expectation is for significant large recruitment cycles in the sector in the coming years. The state is taking advantage of this patriotic sentiment and is currently promoting, at the same time, an extensive recruitment campaign in the Bedouin sector in memory of Colonel Assaf Hammi, the commander of the southern brigade, whose Bedouin soldiers under his command demonstrated supreme heroism so far in the war.
Another area in which the increase of social solidarity is expressed is in relation to soldiers from the general sector, “Zera Israel” (mostly descendants of immigrants from the Soviet countries, who were not halakhic Jews but identified as such and could make Alliya according to the Law of Return). The war led to a great increase in their view as part of the Jewish people for all intents and purposes, and support for their burial in the Tomb of Israel if they served in the IDF and sacrificed their lives for the nation, or in granting an expedited conversion course they would be interested in it.
In general, more than 70% of Israel’s population feels a deeper partnership with the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora due to the war. This is especially evident in populations of immigrants and religious people, including ultra-Orthodox Haredim. The Haredim saw an increase in the consumption of news and general media content during the war; and it remains to be seen whether this will also affect the percentage of enlistment to the army.
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