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The IDF’s New Recruits

JL;DR SUMMARY Haim Traitel, a 19-year-old IDF sergeant from the Haredi-majority town of Bnai Brak, shares his experience of enlisting despite community opposition. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Israeli SocietyReligious ObservanceIdfHezbollahHarediTorah StudyMilitary ServiceHamas ConflictBnai BrakDraft Exemptions

Places mentioned

Beersheba, Southern District, Israel
"Haim Traitel reclined in bed in a third-floor room at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba on a late-October afternoon."
Gaza (Gaza Strip), Southern District, Israel
"He discussed the battle injury he suffered the previous week in the Gaza Strip, his service in the Israel Defense Forces, and his motivation for enlisting."
Bnai Brak, Central District, Israel
"Hasidic sect to which he and his family belong, beyond saying that its an important group in the Haredi-majority town of Bnai Brak, where he lives."
Jabalia, Central District, Israel
"even after Haim nearly was killed in Jabalia by a Hamas snipers bullet from behind that tore a muscle."
Ashdod, Central District, Israel
"Is the blood of Haredim worth more? reads a sign hanging from an overpass on Highway 7, east of Ashdod."
Jerusalem, Israel
"Horowitz, raised in the Haredi neighborhood of Har Nof in Jerusalem, said he sees the sense in not forcing the issue."
Ramat Beit Shemesh, Central District, Israel
"Theyre much less concerned about that post-Oct. 7, said Karmi Gross, a Miami-raised rabbi in Ramat Beit Shemesh."

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Retrieved 2026-03-15 05:31:59 UTC
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