Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Of course Non-Jews are permitted to join the Israeli Defense Forces; Non-Jews have been part of the IDF since its inception. The mandatory draft was extended to the Druze in 1956 and Druze, Bedouins, and Circassians have volunteered in high numbers for positions in the Israeli Defense Forces since Israeli Independence in 1948. Ethnic-Palestinian Israeli citizens are also permitted to join the Israeli Defense Forces, but rarely do since many Ethnic-Palestinians Israeli citizens do not want to open fire on other Palestinians.

I have read that US fighter jet aircraft incorporate something like 700 separate
mechanical and technological components developed in Israel.

IDF has many meanings, here are the most common.

Intel Developer Forum

ÃŽle-de-France (region)

Israel Defence Force

International Diabetes Federation

they manufacture their own weapons

USA

There is no one "Arab Military," because there are MANY Arab countries, not just one. Therefore it would have been much better if you had made clear which Arab country you wanted a comparison with. Also, there is no one way to compare such things -- when you compare two things, you have to decide exactly in what WAY you want to compare them. In general, Israeli military capabilities are greatly superior to the military capabilities of neighboring countries. They make their own very high-quality military equipment, and they also have an excellent relationship with America, particularly the American military and the American politicians who decide a good part of the rules on what the American military may do. Israel is also allowed to import huge amounts of brand-new American military equipment, with very few restrictions on what they are allowed to buy from us, and vice versa. Israel is also unusually good at preventing other countries from getting the most secret information about how Israeli military equipment works. Usually, none of this is true for Arab countries. In general, most Arab countries have old and vastly inferior military equipment (mostly very outdated things, given to those countries by the Soviet Union or by modern Russia) The soldiers tend to be poorly trained compared to Israeli soldiers -- except for those Arab countries which have lots of oil and are very rich (for example Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia) and except for the special forces of some Arab countries. These tend to be at least well trained, and sometimes very well trained. Some Arab countries also concentrate on having good long-range missiles and rather good submarines. These things are very closely watched by Israel and the friends of Israel. The equipment, the morale, and the book learning of the Israeli soldiers tens to be excellent -- and in Israel EVERYBODY who is physically capable of doing so is REQUIRED to serve in the military for a certain time, even the women. In Israel, women can serve in front-line combat units, even though this means they are as likely to be killed as the male soldiers. Other countries almost never permit this. If Israel wants any kind of military information or intelligence information from the United States or its allies, or vice versa, usually all that is necessary to do is to ask -- and the one who asked gets what they asked for, IMMEDIATELY. Israel not only has its own spy satellites (two, I think) -- but when they want to see what we get from ours, which are much better, all they have to do is ask. While America is the best at finding stuff out by using advanced machines, Israel has more human spies than the US, and they tend to be better than ours are. This is because Israel searches for Jews throughout the world who have love for Israel, and these people, called "sayanim," pay attention and follow instructions so that Israel can make use of them and find out the things they know. Israel also has laws which openly permit them to assassinate their enemies if they think it is absolutely essential, and they have a court to rule on wether there is cause to do this, and when they do it, they admit it. Almost none of these things are true for Arab countries. In particular, Israel's spies are seen as worthy of respect by other countries, and greatly feared. Sometimes people fear Israeli spies and Israeli military so much that they think they are superhuman, and don't stop to think about what their real limits are. It can be easier to find soldiers in Arab countries who will go to cause trouble for Israel, even if they know they are definitely going to die. The reverse tends not to true. Israeli soldiers are very good at surprise attacks, even far away from Israel, as long as the fighting far away will be over very soon. If somebody is attacking Israel, Israeli soldiers (and civilians) are UNBELIEVABLY brave and good at defending themselves. On the other hand, if they think that somebody is attacking them, Israeli soldiers have a reputation for being ruthless and impulsive, using too much force and obliterating the attacker without considering anything else. This the reputation, but that does not mean it is always true. Israel has about 100 small nuclear weapons, though they are not the kind that can reach other continents. Definite proof that this is true was leaked to other countries some decades ago, during some events having to do with a man named Mordecai Vanunu. Israel still will not admit that it has them, but after the business with Mr. Vanunu, they do not deny it any more, either. If they are asked about this, they say nothing. Other Arab countries do not have these, though about two are working hard on them. Some used to be working on them but gave up, or were attacked to make them stop. I have not spoken about Iran. Iran is very complicated and it is not an Arab country, it is just next to a lot of Arab countries. In Iran, most people are related to the ancient Persians -- not Arabs, but quite different. In fact, in ancient times, they were attacked by Arabs several times, and several times taken over by Arabs. They get upset if you make a mistake and say that they are Arabs. But they sort of expect that Westerners are ignorant and will make this mistake. In Iran, people speak Farsi, not Arabic. Iran's military is very modern and very tough. Iran sort of has two governments which overlap with each other, both ruling the whole country and both running at the same time. One is a religious government. and can be very, very strict and cruel some of the time. The other is a secular government, a lot more reasonable, more like in Western countries. They are ready for hardship in Iran because they remember all about the war with Iraq, when they were attacked with chemical weapons. Iran suffered horribly and had to defend itself by using many, many young suicide attackers (bassijis). These bassijis have become very numerous and powerful. They have their own special laws and courts, and many people in Iran are scared of them, but they tend keep their mouths shut so that they do not get into serious trouble. In theory, the religious government rules over the secular government. This is all very complicated.

Israel has so many rabbis. Ask your family and friends.

It's not illegal, but serving in a foreign military or employment with a foreign government in a military role is considered a voluntary forfeiture of US citizenship. Merely taking civilian employment with a foreign government does not jeopardize your citizenship, though you are forbidden from taking an ELECTIVE office in other countries.

It has been overlooked at various times (e.g. the Flying Tigers in China, and US volunteers to the RAF/RFC during both WW2 and WW1), but the law is pretty clear on this subject.

If you are a dual-citizen of another country, then service in that country's (and ONLY that country's) military is NOT a forfeiture, as you were fulfilling your citizenship's duties to that country. So, if you're a dual Israeli-US citizen, you can serve in the IDF with no problem at all.

Judges

Israel is the 4th most powerful country in the world in terms of military might, the other three are; 1) The United States 2) China and believe it or not 3) Great Britain Although no longer a "super" power, Britain remains, nevertheless a formidable military power. The militaries of the United States and Britain maintain a free exchange, by that I mean, nothing is kept secret. Anything Britain develops it gives to America, anything America develops it gives to Britain. The Israeli Army, loses to the United States obviously because of both numbers, and technology. Although the IDF is in fact more advanced because of Russian technology, numbers are still numbers. One thousand soldiers armed with steel, are not going to defeat 10,000 armed with bronze; the technological difference is not large enough for smaller numbers to have an edge. That is the difference between America and Israel; the Israeli military is in fact, indeed more advanced, but numbers are still numbers. It loses to China because, come on. lol. I need not ellaborate on that. To Great Britain because, even though technologically they are in fact on the same level as the U.S. like I said, British disciplinary standards are notoriously demanding. The British Army, Navy, Royal Airforce and Marines, are all exceedingly efficient; Britain has followed the Roman philosophy of military organization, since the time the legions of Octavian conquered the island. Because Great Britain has, for centuries, modified the Roman model to adapt to the warfare of whatever time period, that means, the British military follows a 21st century version of the Roman military machine, that is why they are as deadly as they are. Rome was only a single city state, a city, with not even so much as 100,000 people, hell not even that, when it began life, and yet, it was abel to subjugate the lion's share of Europe. The "secret" of the Roman military machine, was iron discipline, and this fact was not lost on any British King following the abandonment of Britain by her Roman conquerors. The historical Arthur Pendragon in fact, the reason he was able to defeat the Saxons, was because he had his Celtic warriors follow Roman military discipline. Later on though, through espionage and bribes, the Saxons learned their "secret" and they too adopted the Roman model, because the Saxons were both outbreeding the native Celts, in addition to receiving hundreds upon hundreds of colonists from their native Denmark, the combination of Roman military discipline and numbers, proved too much for the Celts, and with Arthur gone they were basically ripped apart and driven to Wales and Cornwall. Time passed, history became history and all that junk, however, whatever happened, whoever held power in Britain, Roman military discipline was never abandoned, nor where the standards ever lowered, for anyone, not even the nobility. Given this, even though Britain is only a small island geographically speaking, it was largely because of Roman style military discipline, modified and adapted to the warfare needs of a given time period, that Britain was able to conquer large chunks of the world and come to dominate the seas. Sees in mainland Europe, nothing even came close, the only real rival Britain had in terms of military discipline was Spain, it too followed the Roman model of military discipline however, Spaniards were far more brutal in the way they trained their soldiers, which sometimes led to low morale, where the British were not. Where in the Spanish army discipline would be enforced through brutal beatings with a horse whip, in the British army, usually you'd only get a slap on the face, and be told to do menial chores in addition to being forced to do some heavy labor. The British punished their men, certainly, but they did not brutalize them to the point where they couldn't walk like the Spanish did. Furthermore, Spain forgot the principle of adaptability, stubornly clinging to methods of warfare that very soon became outdated, whereas Britain, always adapted with the times. They even went as far to adapt Roman military principles for naval warfare. The Israeli military should in fact be above Britain, however, the disciplinary standards, there is just no comparison.

you can ususally use a certificate stating membership of a synagogue or a Ketubah if you are married.

Because there was no reason to do that, and it would have turned a lot of opinion against Israel.

inian army have 7 th position in the world by power

Military: They were commanded by God to take the land from the Canaanites (Deuteronomy ch.1 and many other passages).

Spiritual: they were commanded not to imitate the ways of the Canaanites (Leviticus ch.18 and many other passages).

coaxial cable

It only has two; the IDF, which is an integration of the Marines, Army, Navy, and Special Forces. The other one, is the IAF, the airforce. IDF stands for "Israeli Defense Force," while IAF stands for "Israeli Air Force." The third group, although not "truly" military, is Mossad; it conducts espionage operations throughout the Arabian peninsula, and it employs, primarily, Israeli Arabs to spy on Arab countries. In the Arab world they are known as Mossad's "black agents." Back during the early days of the Iraq War part 2 by the second George Bush, it was Mossad who obtained all the information regarding germ warfare, the agent who obtained it, was in fact an Israeli Arab woman, who seduced one of the scientists. In fact, I think the majority of Israel's "black agents" are women. What can I say; in the Arab world ashkenazi women stand out like a sore thumb (most), so Mossad needs to use Arab women. In terms of training standards, overall, although Israel has one of the most demanding and brutal bootcamp systems in the world, beyond bootcamp, it has some of the most lax disciplinary standards in the world. As a matter of fact, this lax in discipline, is what led directly to the IDF's defeat by Hamas in Lebanon. Primarily to save face politically, Israel attacked the Gaza strip; Hamas made them look bad in Lebanon, the Israeli public felt unsfe, so the Knesset ordered they march on Gaza. Its pretty cut and dry; there is nothing "complex" about it, its all politics. In fact, some scholars have argued that in modern times, warfare has not become some idealistic crusade or ideology, the ambitions of some conqueror, like in the ancient world, its not about economics like in the 1990's, nor is it about religious fervor like in midieval times. Modern war, some scholars have argued, is more about making a political statement, than anything else. Look at the ongoing war in Iraq; is it REALLY about economics? Everybody says "oil, oil, oil!" but, see, thing is, there is still plenty of oil, as Saudi Arabia still posseses many highly classified reserves. Chomsky, I believe it was, has argued, that Iraq was a war of intimidation; terrorism is about politics, so, a war was started, again, for the sake of politics. "People forget how powerful America is, so lets show em'!" As with the U.S., now that the vast bulk of the world has been exposed to the horrors of war, thanks to Hollywood, uncensored news, and of course "realistic" video games, the majority of people in the world today have become pacifists, compared to, even, their great grand parents. Because of this, modern war, sadly for the soldiers whose job is to DEFEND a country, they have indeed become political tools. Israel is no different.

Yes, of course, in fact there are even some Muslims and Arabs in the Israeli forces.

According to Israeli Law, all Jewish male and female citizens of the country, unless they have a religious exception, are drafted into the IDF. All Druze men and all Circassian men are similarly drafted (but without a religious exception). Druze is a unique religion that diverged from Shiite Islam around 1000 years ago. Circassians are a Caucasus ethnic group who practice Islam. Additionally, a large number of Bedouins (who are Muslim) as well as small numbers of Christian-Israelis and ethnic Palestinian Muslim Israelis volunteer for the IDF.

Since 1993 the Israeli Defense Forces do not restrict service based on sexual orientation. Lesbians can, and do, serve in the IDF.

There are two ways of assessing Israel's military power. One is to consider only conventional capability and the other is to also include non-conventional weapons as well. Israel is one of 7-8 nations possessing nuclear weapons. Of these nations, Pakistan and North Korea have clearly inferior militaries, so Israel's rank is no lower than #6 in the world. With British and French military spending to be severely cut in the near future and Israel rapidly expanding, this will be subject to change. Most rankings that do not take nuclesr weapons into account place Israel in the Top 10, usually 9 or 10. Israel's high ranking is a testament to its incredible technological superiority (aided in part by its close relationship with the United States), high level of training, particularly its special forces, superior intelligence apparatus, and an air force fleet that is second to none. Its highly mechanized army is small, however, and a prolonged military conflict against any capable nation is not one that Israel is able to fight. It lacks power projection capabilities (something only 3-4 nations possess), although that is slowly changing with its drone fleet and upgraded submarine force. Thus Israel, unlike any other nation in the top ten, has less room for error and must bring conflicts to a decisive conclusion sooner than later. Following the performance of the IDF in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982, the force developed a reputation as the invincible army and its commando units a lethal reputation for their daring missions. Since then, the prestige and place the military had in society has been somewhat eroded and other nations and terrorist groups in the midle east have acquired advanced military and paramilitary capabilities. Still, no middle eastern natiion (Turkey included) has any chance at attacking Israel and defeating it in a war as Israel, both conventionally and nonconventionally poses a grave existential threat to any such army and nation.

Yes. Israeli and Druze males are required to serve for three years, and femals must serve for two.

GENERALLY, YES, but it is more complicated.

For groups who are drafted, there is a two-year requirement of service for women and a three-year requirement of service for men. The groups that are drafted are: Israeli Jews (except the Ultra-Orthodox who have a number of exemptions), Israeli Druze Men, and Israeli Circassian Men. Israeli Bedouins, Palestinian Muslim Citizens of Israel, and Palestinian Christian Citizens of Israel are not required to serve. Many Israeli Bedouin Men have a tradition of service, but there is no draft for them. A number of Orthodox Jewish battalions are now forming in the Israeli Army because of insufficient numbers of exemptions and increasing patriotism in the Orthodox Jewish community. Increasingly, Palestinian Citizens of Israel are enlisting, but it remains very unpopular in Israel's ethnic Palestinian communities to serve in the Israeli Army. Additionally, a number of foreign Jews enlist in the Israeli Army. Regardless, any individual who enlists in the Israeli Army is held to the same two-year requirement of service for women and a three-year requirement of service for men.

Their main strike aircraft are highly modified F-15 and F-16.

no