Israel uses networking sites to catch 1000 women draft
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Determined to stem the growing number of draft dodgers, Israeli military says it has caught around 1,000 women, who tried to avoid compulsory service by lying about their religious orientation, through monitoring of popular social networking sites like facebook.
Israeli military service is largely compulsory but religiously observant Jewish women can be exempted from service, a rule that sometimes leads to resentment among the secular Jewish population.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) sources said that they hired investigators two years ago who used innovative skills to track down draft dodgers on facebook.
A woman who said she was a religious Jew but posted her photo on facebook holding a menu from a non-kosher restaurant, they said.
Some posted messages on the popular site on sabbath, which is unlikely for a religious woman.
The draft-dodgers were then promptly brought back to army service, they said.
The IDF has established the special unit following the second lebanon war against Shi'ite Hizbullah faction in 2006 to prevent the leakage of classified information onto the internet via social networks.
The unit scans a list of popular websites like facebook, twitter and myspace looking for breach of security.
Military Intelligence also disseminated a memo on the protocols of transfer of information online in efforts to raise awareness on the dangers of such inadvertent leaks.
The new unit will be allowed to give polygraph tests to soldiers and officers suspected of leaking information.
The Israeli army also plans to block popular social network sites, facebook and twitter, as well as email sites like gmail, at army bases.
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