Draft Process

Below is a guide to the draft process for those drafting through Machal. Be aware that all stages of the process may change.

1. You’ll be in contact with Machal from your home country. After sending them the requested forms (medical, background check, etc), Machal will update you on a date of which you should already be in Israel.
2. After landing in Israel, you’ll be required to quarantine. The regulations for this are constantly changing – you may be required to quarantine in a “Corona hotel”. This may be preferable as you won’t have to pay for these 2 weeks of rent and can therefore save some money.
3. After finishing quarantine, you will be responsible for arranging your own living accommodations. If you can save money by staying with friends/family, this is suggested. Another option would be AirB&B or renting an apartment together with future draftees.
4. After finishing quarantine, you will have a period of time in which you’ll simply be waiting for Machal to reach out to you. Eventually they will contact you with a date for an “interview”. This interview is for them to simply see that you exist as a person and not just as an email, as well as to check your Hebrew level.
5. Eventually Machal will update you with a date for the start of your pre-army program (mechina). This program is required for all those drafting through Machal. The duration of the program is around 4 weeks during which you will travel around Israel, learn Hebrew, learn more about service in the IDF and more. You’ll meet here additional pre-draftees who will be drafting along side you. Read more about the program here – written by Daniella, a Machal draftee from August 2021.
6. Sometime before/during the pre-army program, the army will call you for your “צו ראשון” or “first call up”. This is your first meeting with the army. The army will give you a medical check up and score, and intelligence score and a socio-economic score based on your background. Together, these scores will determine where you are eligible to draft to. Read more about the details and impact of these scores here (#6).
7. After 4 weeks or so, the pre-army program will end. Usually the program ends a few days before the draft but this is not guaranteed. You should use these few days to make sure you are prepared for your draft.
8. Before draft day you must have an Israeli bank account. Without an Israeli bank account, you will not receive your monthly salary from the IDF. In order to receive your salary on time, you must have your bank details available on draft day! You can open a bank account at most banks as long as you have 2 forms of identification (passport, drivers license, etc).
9. On the assigned day, you will show up to the draft center – בקו”ם. From there you will pass through a number of stations of which will turn you from “civilian” to “soldier”. Read more about draft day here.