The past year has seen a 30 percent increase in the number of non-Jews volunteering for national service in Israel. Today, more than 3,500 non-Jews are serving, over 70 percent of them Muslims.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week met with a number of these non-Jewish volunteers. He heard about how they are playing active roles in the police, fire stations, emergency medical services, schools, kindergartens and more. Netanyahu spoke with the volunteers about the challenges they face, and was told of the volunteers’ desire to fully integrate into Israeli society.
The director of the National Service Authority, Sar-Shalom Jerbi, informed the prime minister that the majority of the volunteers perform their service within Arab communities.