Arab Officer Pioneers Call for Moderate Arab Youth to Enlist in the IDF

When Lt. Col. (res.) Hisham Abu Raya became the first non-Bedouin Muslim officer in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), he was a rarity in the military. "Up until ten years ago, you could count the number of non-Bedouin Muslim recruits in the IDF on the fingers of one hand," Abu Raya told The Times of Israel. However, in recent years, the number of Muslim Arabs serving in the IDF has grown to a few hundred.

A major factor in this shift is a program founded by Abu Raya in 2018 called Ma’an, meaning “together” in Arabic. The program, which operates in 20 Muslim Arab schools under the Defense Ministry, aims to strengthen young Arabs' connection to the State of Israel and encourage them to join the IDF. “Even if I don’t manage to convince them to enlist, at least by the end of the program, they know more about Israeli society,” Abu Raya said.

The initiative has also been introduced in Arab Christian schools, where it has reportedly been met with more openness. Those who choose to enlist are often placed in combat units such as the Golani Brigade or the Desert Reconnaissance Battalion, a unit once exclusive to Bedouin soldiers.

For many Arab youths, Abu Raya believes that army service provides a path to upward mobility and integration into Israeli society. "If you want to advance in Israeli society and feel equal, army service is your entry ticket. The army embraced me," he explained. “All the Arabs I know who went to the army today own a house and have a steady job. They have gone ahead in life.”

The aftermath of Hamas’s October 7th attacks has also contributed to the rising number of Muslim Arabs enlisting in the IDF. According to Abu Raya, the brutality of Hamas against all citizens, regardless of religion, opened the eyes of many Arab Israelis. “On October 7, the penny dropped among Arab Israelis. They saw that Hamas opened fire on everyone and did not distinguish between Jewish and Muslim citizens.”

Abu Raya’s efforts reflect a growing sense among some Arab Israelis that integration into Israeli society, including military service, offers a path to equality and prosperity.

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