New IDF recruits get massive concert

From afar, it looked like any concert, with excited teenagers lining up to hear local musicians, bright flags blowing in the wind above them.

But this was a pre-army draft festival held at Tel Aviv’s Ganei Yehoshua last weekend, sponsored by the Yoter Club, a division of the Association for the Well-Being of Israel’s Soldiers (AWIS).

The annual event is meant to both celebrate the soon-to-be soldiers and help them learn about the IDF and the enlistment process. Attendees could also submit requests to be drafted into their units of choice.

“The idea is to salute them, tell them they are appreciated,” said Brig.-Gen. (res.) Avigdor Kahalani, chairman of AWIS. “Every year it’s better and more people are coming.”

Around 20,000 recruits attended the event, which was free for any Israeli aged 17 or 18. Free buses brought them to Tel Aviv from all over the country. Inside, combat soldiers in full gear with camouflage-painted faces spoke to draftees. Coke Zero representatives in matching outfits gave away free gifts next to a display warning against drunk driving.

The army’s enlistment center, or Bakum, set up rows of computers inside a tent to provide the draftees with information on their enlistment. They could speak to officers and request to change units on the spot, bypassing the usual bureaucratic processes.

The highlight of the event was the concert featuring entertainers who had been selected by the audience, including Hadag Nahash, Rotem Cohen, Yuval Dayan, Hatikva 6 and Itay Levi.

Yuval Dayan was one of the crowd favorites. The singer, who was featured on the popular show “The Voice,” is currently serving in the military herself. She said her family helped inspire her service and that she felt honored to perform at the concert.

“This is how my parents raised me,” she said. “It’s very important for me to give two years to my country.”

The recruits voted Rotem Cohen into the concert for the second time. He was also a singer during his army service, and said the concert was a meaningful event for him.

“Service is always important, even if you sing,” he said.

For Kahalani, the event was about Zionism.

“Every person over 18 should be in the army. This is why we are here,” he said. “Every three years we have a war. I hope they will not have to participate.”

Kahalani, who received a Medal of Valor for his service in the Yom Kippur War, addressed the teenagers in attendance at a symbolic passing of the flag ceremony, saying, “Now it is your turn to protect us.”