The full guide
If a member of your family has been detained, interrogated or jailed, there is one right worth exercising immediately, and it costs nothing: **a military defender**. This page explains what you are entitled to, whom to call, and what we could not verify and therefore will not state here.
Why our community especially needs this Enlistment among Ethiopian-Israelis is above the national average — 86% in 2012 versus 74% across the IDF. But after enlistment, in the State Comptroller's words, "a rupture occurs". State Comptroller report 63c found that of the soldiers jailed in 2010, **53% were of Ethiopian origin versus 25% across the IDF**, and that their AWOL and desertion rate was **more than three times** the IDF-wide rate. The Comptroller stressed that "these figures light a social warning lamp". Years later the picture is similar: in 2017 Ethiopian-Israelis were some 4% of IDF soldiers — but 15.07% of jailed female soldiers and 10.78% of jailed male soldiers.
And the cause is documented. A paper prepared by the Knesset Research and Information Center ahead of a session of the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee (December 2015) states explicitly: "Economic background — a considerable share of the soldiers suffer from financial problems at home and are compelled to help support the family." In other words: a soldier who stays home to help make ends meet, and from there slides into absence and incarceration. This is not fate — there is a formal remedy the state is obliged to provide, and it starts with the family-support NCO. See the family-support wizard below.
The first right: a military defender — free, at any hour The Military Public Defender's Office specializes in defending soldiers in military criminal law. It provides real-time legal advice **every day of the week and at all hours — including Shabbat and holidays**. A soldier questioned by the Military Police CID (מצ"ח) or by the Israel Police who asks to consult a defender may do so **both before and during the interrogation**, and on request will be assigned a lawyer from the office **at no financial cost whatsoever**. If an indictment is filed or detention is sought, the office continues the representation in court.
Two things worth knowing in advance First, a military defender **is not subordinate to the soldier's commanders** — "the defendant's interest alone shall guide them". The defender is not "the army"; they are your side. Second, approaching them is **entirely discreet and confidential by law, and neither indicates guilt nor arouses suspicion**. There is no price for consulting — there is a price for not consulting.
Important: the office answers family members too. One of its defined duties is "providing a response to soldiers under investigation or standing trial, and to their family members, at all hours". You do not need to wait for the soldier to call.
Absent from service? The self-presentation route Under the IDF's enforcement-policy update of November 2023, a deserter presents at the **"כלא 10"** detention facility to regularize their status and close the absence. That same update provides that a soldier not yet classified as a deserter **will be taken into the prison only if absent for 30 days or more** — other soldiers are judged in a disciplinary proceeding in their unit. The practical meaning: the earlier you present, the smaller the case. Consult the defender's office **before** presenting.
Note: this policy was set for the wartime period — in the order's words, "this policy is valid throughout the war period and until cancelled or updated". Check with the defender's office what applies today.
Where the detention facility is Prison 4 and Prison 6 were **permanently closed** and replaced by the "Neve Tzedek" facility built outside the Beit Lid base. Many older guides still direct families to Prisons 4 and 6 — do not travel there. The facility includes a **dedicated family-visit building**, a family-support NCO attached to every company, and a "Hosen" centre covering family support, medicine and mental health.
What we do not know — and therefore will not state We found no official source for visiting days or hours at the military detention facility, the permitted number of visitors, what may be brought in, or a phone number for coordinating a visit. Confident-looking numbers circulate online — some are in fact the rules of the **civilian Israel Prison Service**, which do not apply to military detention. Rather than guess: call the Military Public Defender (073-310-3300) or the KAPATZ centre (1111, extension 5 then 4) and ask. Both answer parents too.
Who the right address is — a common mistake The Soldiers' Complaints Commissioner operates under Chapter XI of the Military Justice Law and is an excellent address for service grievances. The right to file is broad: not only the soldier but also **parents, a spouse, and siblings or children aged 16+** — or anyone the soldier asks. But note: **the Commissioner is not authorized to handle disciplinary matters or criminal offenses** — that is, precisely the question of whether the soldier is guilty. There, the address is the Military Public Defender. This distinction saves weeks.
A right almost nobody knows: the sealed envelope Section 545(b) of the Military Justice Law gives an **imprisoned or detained** soldier a dedicated complaint channel: the complaint is handed to the prison commander, who must forward it to the Commissioner **without opening it**. That means a soldier in custody can complain about conditions or about how they are being treated without the complaint being read by the very people it concerns. If your son or daughter describes abusive treatment in detention, this is the route. (On guilt or the punishment itself — still the defender's office.)
What to do today — in order 1. Call the Military Public Defender: 073-310-3300 or sanegorya@idf.il. You may call before any indictment exists, and you may call as the parent. 2. If you do not know where the soldier is or how they are — the KAPATZ centre, 1111 extension 5 then 4, operates 24/7 and is intended for civilians and parents as well. 3. If family financial hardship is in the background — open a family-support (ת"ש) case. It is the common cause of AWOL, and it has a formal remedy. 4. If the matter is not disciplinary or criminal but a service grievance — the Soldiers' Complaints Commissioner, 03-6977374.
Legal note: This is general information, not legal advice. For a concrete case contact the Military Public Defender — representation is free — or a lawyer.
Last reviewed: August 31, 2026