The Israel Defense Forces logo. Haredi enlistment in the IDF became law on Wednesday with the Knesset's passage of the Equal Sharing of the Burden Bill. Photo: IDF.

JNS.org – Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recruits with medical histories of certain serious diseases, including some types of cancer, will now be allowed to volunteer for combat positions, the IDF has decided.

The combat positions include elite units in the artillery, armored, and combat engineering forces, but not in elite infantry units.

The IDF Medical Corps has recently been pushing to draft young Israelis who in the past would have been prevented from serving because of their medical histories. The campaign includes a decision not to exclude potential soldiers for being underweight.

Draftees with hypothyroidism or whose thyroid was removed because of cancer, while still assigned a low medical rating, will now be eligible for a greater variety of service roles, such as combat service with the Israeli Border Police and positions in the IDF Homefront Command.