Too Many Kids or Too Many Pounds?

Our Older Son (OOS) just made aliyah to Israel. I recently asked him what his plans were in terms of military service. He told me that he would immediately register with the draft board but that the conventional wisdom is that the IDF does not draft olim who (like him) have two or more kids.

I thought about this for a while. The I suggested that perhaps the conventional wisdom is wrong. Could it be that the IDF doesn't bother with American olim who have two kids because they are generally 50 pounds or more overweight?

I then took a look at OOS. He's about 5'6" (huge by MoChassid family standards) and weighs about 135 pounds. He is also an excellent athlete in great physical shape.

I told him I'd visit him during basic training.