The most profitable investment in Baku — seafront resort apartmentsfrom $150,000Learn more ›

Home / Rights & Programs / National-Civic Service for Community Youth

National-Civic Service for Community Youth in Sderot

Alternative to the army: 1-2 years serving the community (education, welfare, health). The subsistence payment is ₪810 a month, plus a tiered maintenance allowance and free travel.

About Sderot

Sderot, located adjacent to the Gaza border, hosts a long-established Israeli-Ethiopian community that has dealt with security challenges alongside economic hardship. The community has demonstrated remarkable resilience, and development projects in the city offer new housing opportunities.

More about the city →

When is it the right path?

  • When the army doesn't fit (medical, psychological, or religious exemption) — or when civic-service track is preferred.
  • For women — legally easier to enter civic over military.
  • For older immigrants — drafted but prefer service in their hometown.

Benefits

  • Subsistence payment: ₪810 a month (raised from ₪540 in March 2025, backdated to January 2025)
  • Maintenance allowance (דמי כלכלה): paid in addition, tiered by housing and meals. A lone volunteer receives a supplement of 50% of the rate for a volunteer living at home
  • Travel: free on trains and buses
  • Housing in kind: for volunteers placed far from home

In total the cash components run roughly ₪800-2,100 a month, depending on the mix.

This page previously said "~₪5,000/month" — about five times the real figure. It also claimed "benefits identical to standing-army soldiers" and a "tax exemption for the first three working years"; no source was found for either and both were removed.

How to start

  1. Registration: via sherut-leumi.co.il → "Candidates"
  2. Choose a role: from the list of recognised host organisations on the authority's site. (An earlier version said ENP, Tene Briut, Tebeka and Olim Beyahad were "most of them" — there are hundreds of host organisations, so that was not true.)
  3. Interview: with the host organization
  4. Start: usually 1st of the next month

Idea for community youth: Service at ENP/Fidel/Tene Briut = direct community work + career development in education/welfare/health.

Ethiopian community in Sderot

Community population
~7,000
Share of city
~35%
Main neighbourhoods
שכ' ב', שכ' ג'
Community services
ENP, NATAL, ביה"ס קהילתי

More rights in Sderot

This right in other cities

FAQ — Sderot

How many Ethiopian-Israelis live in Sderot?
The Ethiopian-Israeli community in Sderot numbers approximately ~7,000 residents — around ~35% of the city's population. Main neighbourhoods: שכ' ב', שכ' ג'.
How do I claim National-Civic Service for Community Youth in Sderot?
Apply via the relevant government body in Sderot. For support: ENP, NATAL, ביה"ס קהילתי.
What community support is available in Sderot for this right?
In Sderot, the following organisations can assist with paperwork, translation and entitlement: ENP, NATAL, ביה"ס קהילתי.