Lone Soldiers in Jerusalem: A Practical Guide to Housing, Benefits and Support

Short answer: get recognised as a lone soldier as early as you can, ideally before the draft, because the benefits start only once the army has recognised you. On base, your welfare NCO (the Mashakit Tash) is the person who unlocks almost everything; off base, the IDF's lone soldier department, Merkaz Bodedim, answers 24 hours a day on 1111. In Jerusalem you can live free at Beit HaChayal, in a Lone Soldier Center house, or rent your own place with a lease in your name. On release, register with a health fund the same week and keep the bank account the army pays into.

This guide goes into more detail than our lone soldiers checklist. Benefits and amounts change, so confirm anything you are budgeting around with your Mashakit Tash or Merkaz Bodedim.

Who counts as a lone soldier

• Olim who came alone. A soldier who made aliyah alone and whose parents live permanently abroad is recognised as a lone soldier.
• Israelis whose parents are abroad. Children of parents who have moved abroad, or who are on a mission overseas of six months or more, are recognised too.
• Israelis without family support. This is not automatic. You apply through the Ministry of Defense, and the Lone Soldier Center recommends doing it before you enlist so that you start your service with the status. The Center can help with the application.
• Garin Tzabar and Mahal. Garin Tzabar participants make aliyah and spend three months on a host kibbutz before the draft. Mahal volunteers are not citizens, serve 18 months and do not make aliyah, so the aliyah-related grants do not apply to them. Nefesh B'Nefesh's programme page covers both.

The two contacts that matter

• Your Mashakit Tash. Every unit has a welfare NCO (mashakit tash). Most benefits, from the rent supplement to the flight home, are requested through her, often with paperwork, so get to know her early and keep copies of everything you hand in.
• Merkaz Bodedim. Set up in March 2020, it is the IDF's lone soldier department, responsible for you before the draft, during service and after release. The hotline runs 24/7 in several languages: 1111 from Israel, +972-3-5691000 from abroad, WhatsApp +972-52-9437725. Call it when something you are owed is not happening on base.
• The Lone Soldiers Program. The Nefesh B'Nefesh–FIDF Lone Soldiers Program supports olim before, during and after service, and its hotline is *6563. Its benefits list names every benefit and how to claim it.

Olim also get an automatic adjustment year after receiving their teudat zehut. If you want to enlist sooner, the Lone Soldier Center says you can ask Meitav, the IDF's enlistment and placement unit, to waive it.

Money and benefits during service

Lone soldiers get army pay plus a monthly lone soldier stipend, and extra payments if they rent. We have not printed the amounts: the published figures disagree with each other and the most detailed list dates from February 2024. Merkaz Bodedim has the current rates.

• Aliyah grants. Olim who are lone soldiers get a monthly Ministry of Aliyah and Integration grant, but only if no more than five years passed between aliyah and the draft. A separate Ministry of Construction and Housing payment starts 13 months after aliyah. Neither applies to Mahal volunteers or to soldiers who did not make aliyah.
• Holiday gift cards. Twice a year, before Rosh Hashanah and Pesach. Your Mashakit Tash tells you where and when to collect them.
• A day for errands. Lone soldiers get a yom siddurim, a day off for bank, government and other errands: once a month during training and once every two months after it. Give your commander notice if you have a fixed appointment.
• Serious money trouble. If you are in real financial difficulty, you can request special leave to live and work outside the army for a limited period (meyuchedet kalkalit). It goes through your Mashakit Tash, with your bank statements for at least the last three months.
• A bank account you keep. Your pay, the release grant and, years later, what is left of the pikadon all go into your bank account. Open one early (how to open a bank account in Israel) and keep it open after release, or update the details.

Housing in Jerusalem

You need somewhere to go on weekends and leave. There are four main options, and you can move between them during your service.

Beit HaChayal

Beit HaChayal is the hostel network of the Soldiers' Welfare Association (Agudah LeMa'an HaChayal), with a branch in Jerusalem. Lone soldiers can stay free from three months before the draft until discharge. Breakfast and dinner are served during the week, with bigger meals at weekends. Ask your Mashakit Tash or contact the branch directly. The same association runs free, furnished Alach apartments around the country; arrange one through Meitav before the draft or your Mashakit Tash after it, and expect to leave it when you are discharged (NBN's list).

The Lone Soldier Center's houses

The Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin runs four houses in Jerusalem:

• Beit HaKerem: the largest, for about 50 men and women, olim and Israelis, religious and secular (mainly secular). Two counsellors oversee it and the floors are divided by gender.
• Arnona: for 29 olim, mainly religious. Living in Arnona and Talpiot describes the area.
• King George: two smaller flats in the city centre, for 11 religious men and five religious women, with a counsellor living in the men's flat.

Rent corresponds to the army's housing allowance and covers utilities, municipal fees, internet and basic food during the week. Hot Friday-night dinner and Shabbat lunch are cooked by local volunteer communities. The Center's Jerusalem drop-in centre is at 8 Dorot Rishonim; it is open Sunday to Wednesday 10:00–18:00, Thursday 12:00–20:00 and Friday 9:00–12:00, and the number is 02-502-2211.

Renting your own place

• Your name on the lease. The rent supplement and an apartment-maintenance payment are added to your pay only if you have signed a lease for a flat you use when off base. Upload it to your Mitgaisim account or give a copy to your Mashakit Tash. It is not automatic.
• Budget carefully. Confirm the current supplement with Merkaz Bodedim before you sign; the published rates vary. Our renting guide covers contracts and what to check before you sign, and the cost of living guide gives a monthly budget.
• Moving day. Lone soldiers get two days off to move house. Ask your commander and Mashakit Tash weeks ahead; the army can sometimes provide a truck. If not, see movers and handymen.
• Closed base? Soldiers who come home only at weekends can rent a room on a kibbutz through the Lone Soldiers Program, with laundry and a furnished room included in the rent.

Arnona and electricity

• Arnona. Soldiers in compulsory service who own or rent their home pay no arnona on up to 70 square metres of it (90 if five or more people live there). It is a discount for all conscripts, it applies only to the holder of the apartment, and it does not apply if you live with your parents. Bring your lone soldier certificate (teudat boded), army ID and lease to the municipality; NBN suggests going in uniform. The discount continues for four months after release. Paying the bills in Jerusalem explains how arnona works.
• Electricity. Lone soldiers who rent can ask the Israel Electric Corporation for 50% off the bill. Call and tell them you are a lone soldier.

Shabbat, chagim and adopted families

• Home by 10:00 on Friday. On weekends off base, lone soldiers are entitled to arrive home by 10:00 on Friday: arrive by then, not leave base by then. It should be automatic. If it is not honoured, call Merkaz Bodedim.
• An adopted family. The Lone Soldiers Program will match you with an Israeli family that volunteers to adopt a lone soldier. It can be anything from Friday-night dinners to a room in their home for your time off base. You choose the level of observance, the area, and how involved it is.
• Meals in the houses. Beit HaChayal serves bigger meals at weekends, and the Lone Soldier Center's houses get hot Shabbat meals from local volunteers.
• Planning for chagim. Everything closes for Shabbat and chagim, including buses, so plan where you will be before you leave base. Shabbat and chagim in Jerusalem explains what closes and when.

Leave, flights home and parents' visits

• Leave abroad. Special leave to visit family abroad (meyuchedet chul) is usually granted only after training. Speak to your commander and Mashakit Tash well ahead. The number of days given in different sources varies, so ask Merkaz Bodedim what applies to you.
• The flight. After at least eight months of service you can request a paid round-trip flight for that leave: two during service for combat soldiers, one for non-combat. Request it specifically through your Mashakit Tash, because it needs extra paperwork.
• When parents visit. You can get up to four days off with your parents during training and up to eight after it. Friday and Saturday may count towards those days, and more depends on the unit and the commander. Tell your commander and Mashakit Tash as soon as you know the dates.
• A family emergency abroad. Call Merkaz Bodedim straight away, at any hour.

Flying in or out on a Friday? Ben Gurion to Jerusalem covers trains, buses and Shabbat arrivals.

Getting around

• During service: the choger. Soldiers' public transport is paid from a monthly IDF budget loaded as stored value onto your choger, the military ID card. Load it through the Rav-Kav Online app or at a service station; it works on every mode of transport nationwide. If it runs short, ask the person in charge in your unit for another load (Rav-Kav Online). It is not a blanket free pass, whatever older pages say.
• After release: a year free. The Discharged profile on a personal Rav-Kav gives free travel on all public transport nationwide for a year from your discharge date. Apply with your ID and your discharge certificate showing the date (Rav-Kav Online). An anonymous Rav-Kav cannot hold it.

Getting around Jerusalem explains the light rail, buses and the Rav-Kav app.

Health and mental health support

• Medical care during service. The IDF provides your medical care, not a kupat cholim, and the Ministry of Defense pays your national insurance. Nefesh B'Nefesh lists the IDF medical line, *6690, as the route to medical help and to a free army mental health professional.
• ERAN. Emotional first aid that is free and anonymous: 1201 in Hebrew, round the clock; *3201 in English; WhatsApp 052-845-1201 (ERAN).
• The Lone Soldier Center. Funds psychological treatment for soldiers in its programme, including CBT and art therapy, and runs group sessions during periods of combat.
• After the army. NBN's Resilience Center offers therapy to international lone soldiers after service: 02-302-7007, or +1 201-246-6499 from the US. For private therapy, see therapists in our directory.
• Emergencies. 101 for a Magen David Adom ambulance. Seeing a doctor in Jerusalem covers urgent care once you are in a health fund.

After release

Start by registering in the personal area of the Ministry of Defense's Division for Discharged Soldiers and Reservists website. Its guide for discharged lone soldiers (October 2025) says all benefits are valid for five years after service, and some for up to ten years for discharged lone soldiers.

• The release grant. Paid automatically into your bank account within 60 days of discharge. The amount depends on the type and length of your service and is shown in your personal area.
• The pikadon. Your personal deposit can be drawn for five years after release for six purposes: studies, professional training, a wedding, driving lessons, buying a home or land or building, and a business. After five years the balance is paid automatically into your bank account, so keep the details up to date (NBN on the ma'anak and pikadon).
• Health fund, the same week. Register with a kupat cholim immediately after discharge (choosing a health fund).
• Bituach Leumi. There is no contribution for the first two months after release if you have no income, provided you served at least two-thirds of mandatory service. After that, someone not working pays the minimum, NIS 266 a month in 2026. If you will be abroad for a month or more, tell Bituach Leumi before you go, or health services are suspended when you come back (Bituach Leumi; our Bituach Leumi guide).
• Rent help in the first year. Discharged lone soldiers can get up to NIS 12,000 towards rent in the first year, and the Ministry of Defense pays for up to three months in a Soldiers' Home. The lease must be in your name; sublets and leases where a parent is the landlord do not count, and months in Beit HaChayal or an Alach flat are deducted (NBN's rent page).
• Arnona. The conscript discount continues for four months after release.
• The vital work grant. Bituach Leumi pays NIS 11,461 (2026 rate) to discharged soldiers who work six full months, full time, in listed vital jobs. Check that the job qualifies before you start; clerical work does not. If the work starts more than a year after discharge, you must also be entitled to unemployment benefit (Bituach Leumi).
• Studies and tax. The Ministry of Defense funds pre-academic courses and offers scholarships, some of them for discharged lone soldiers. It also says to check your eligibility for an income-tax credit in the 36 months after discharge. Student life in Jerusalem and working in Jerusalem cover the next steps.
• The Lone Soldier Center, for five more years. It supports discharged soldiers for up to five years after release with jobs, studies, rights and community, including Shabbat dinners.

For parents abroad

• Who to call. Merkaz Bodedim answers parents too, 24/7: +972-3-5691000 or WhatsApp +972-52-9437725. The Lone Soldiers Program has a US number for parents, +1 201-605-7440.
• Visiting. Tell your son or daughter your dates as early as you can, so they can request family leave. Where to stay in Jerusalem compares neighbourhoods.
• Their rights. Most problems with leave, pay or housing are solved through the Mashakit Tash, then Merkaz Bodedim. Encourage your child to use both rather than wait.
• Privacy. Ask before sharing details of their unit, base or movements online.

Families thinking about aliyah together may also find our pages for new olim and young olim useful.

Common questions

Who is a lone soldier in the IDF?

A soldier who made aliyah alone with parents living permanently abroad, an Israeli whose parents have moved abroad or are on a mission overseas of six months or more, or an Israeli recognised by the Ministry of Defense as serving without family support. Benefits start once the army has recognised you.

What is a Mashakit Tash?

The welfare NCO in your unit. Most lone soldier benefits, from the rent supplement to a flight home, are requested through her. If something is stuck, call Merkaz Bodedim on 1111.

Where can lone soldiers live in Jerusalem?

Free at Beit HaChayal's Jerusalem branch, in an Alach apartment, in one of the Lone Soldier Center's four houses (Beit HaKerem, Arnona and two on King George), with an adopted family, or in a rented flat with the lease in your name.

How much is the lone soldier rent supplement?

The published figures disagree and change, so we have not printed one. Confirm the current amount with Merkaz Bodedim before you sign a lease, and make sure the lease is in your own name.

Do lone soldiers pay arnona?

Soldiers in compulsory service pay no arnona on up to 70 square metres of a home they own or rent (90 if five or more people live there). It continues for four months after release, and it does not apply if you live with your parents.

Is public transport free for soldiers?

During service, travel is paid from a monthly IDF budget loaded onto your choger; ask your unit if it runs out. After release, the Discharged profile on a personal Rav-Kav gives a year of free travel.

What do I need to do on release day?

Register with a health fund, check your Bituach Leumi status, register in the personal area of the Division for Discharged Soldiers and Reservists, and keep your bank account open for the grant and the pikadon.

Hebrew you will meet

• חייל בודד — chayal boded — lone soldier
• מרכז בודדים — Merkaz Bodedim — the IDF's lone soldier department
• משקית ת״ש — mashakit tash — the unit's welfare NCO
• חוגר — choger — military ID card, also loaded with your travel budget
• מיוחדת — meyuchedet — special leave, e.g. meyuchedet chul to go abroad
• יום סידורים — yom siddurim — a day off for errands
• שחרור — shichrur — release from the army
• מענק שחרור — ma'anak shichrur — the release grant
• פיקדון — pikadon — the personal deposit you draw on after release

More everyday words are in our Hebrew vocabulary guide.

Serving now, or just released, and found something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.