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| By: Israel Insider staff |
| Published: July 24, 2007 |
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Amid reports of fewer Israeli youths joining the army, the Israeli Defense Forces has initiated a new campaign to encourage Israeli expatriates living abroad to come to Israel for reserve duty in the West Bank. The volunteer unit, HaTikva, is aimed at attracting thousands of Israelis living in the Diaspora. Service usually lasts from 12-13 days.
"The goal is to encourage the soldiers and let them know that they are not alone," the high-ranking officer told the Jerusalem Post. "When a 19-year-old soldier sees a 60-year-old volunteer standing at a checkpoint next to him late at night, the soldier realizes that he is not alone and that the citizens back home have not forgotten him."
The Central Command is setting up a Web site to give Israelis abroad an incentive to join the ranks of Diaspora volunteers that volunteer in the HaTikva unit.
"There are already a number of volunteers who come from the United States, Canada and France," the officer said. "Just last week we had a Jew from New York who owns seven companies and took off two weeks to come to Israel and serve in the West Bank."
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