israeli-lone-soldier-rights

Israeli Lone Soldier Rights

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Problem

A recognized lone soldier (chayal boded) gets a supplemental package on top of regular service pay: a monthly grant, rent and utility help during service, funded flights home, extra leave, and up to ₪12,000 of rent assistance in the first year after discharge. The rules are split across IDF Order 35.0808, the IDF and hachvana.mod.gov.il benefit pages, Kol Zchut and the diaspora organizations. People often miss that recognition gates the package, miss first-year deadlines, or let service-only benefits lapse at discharge. This skill maps recognition, the active-duty layer, the post-discharge layer (distinct from the regular discharged-soldier package) and NGO routing.

Instructions

Step 1: Who Qualifies as a Lone Soldier (Chayal Boded)

Source quote (kolzchut): "A lone soldier is a soldier in mandatory service who has no parental support in the country during his military service"

Three recognized categories (Kol Zchut "lone soldier"):

Category	Definition
Definitely recognized (מובהק)	Parents live permanently abroad and the soldier made aliyah alone; OR parents emigrated; OR parents are on shlichut abroad for half a year or more
Lacking family support (חסר עורף משפחתי)	No contact with parents; OR in contact but with no possibility of living with them and they are not a functioning, supporting family unit (Kol Zchut's example: a soldier who left the Haredi community). A soldier who lived with a foster family until 18 may in some cases be recognized (never past age 21)
Orphan (יתום)	Orphaned of both parents

A soldier in keva, or in mandatory service under keva terms, is not considered a lone soldier (Kol Zchut: "A soldier in permanent service or a soldier in mandatory service under permanent-service conditions shall not be considered a lone soldier"). Someone recognized by Bituach Leumi as a child as entitled to the income-support benefit for an orphaned or abandoned child goes straight to the 24-hour lone-soldier line, 03-7375200.

The governing IDF order is Pkudat Matkal 35.0808 ("Lone soldiers, principles, rights and procedures, mandatory service"), public as a PDF updated February 2021 (https://www.idf.il/media/rqyjrko0/פמ-350808-מעודכנת-פברואר-2021.pdf). It applies to an unmarried soldier in mandatory service who is not entitled to family payments. Kol Zchut also links a multilingual lone-soldier rights page on the IDF site.

Step 2: Recognition Process

Source quote (kolzchut): "An application must be submitted to the regional recruitment office (for those who have not yet enlisted), or to the service-conditions coordinator (mashakit tash) in the unit where one serves"

Two different forms, one per phase, do not swap them (Kol Zchut "Submitting an application for recognition as a lone soldier"). Form 7304 is not internal-only; a pre-enlistment candidate should expect to fill it.

Phase	What to do	Where
Pre-enlistment (Lishkat HaGiyus interview)	Raise lone-soldier status at the initial interview, then fill Form 7304 at the Rakezet Tash's initiative. She forwards it to the office HQ for approval, exceptional cases go to the recognition committee at Maktzar. Approval is mailed home, and the boded certificate is issued on enlistment day. At basic-training intake the Rakezet Tash must brief the soldier personally on their rights.	Regional recruitment office
Already in service	Fill Form 62 (lone-soldier recognition questionnaire) in two copies	Before an officer or the Rakezet Tash in the unit

Step	Detail
Documents	Per Kol Zchut: none needed for a soldier who made aliyah alone, whose parents emigrated, or whose parents died; parents on shlichut = a letter from the sending body with the shlichut dates, especially the return date; no contact with parents = a report by a social worker or school counselor, financial documents, and whatever else the Rakezet Tash asks for
Decision	Recruitment-office HQ, or the Maktzar committee in exceptional cases. No processing time is published; ask the Rakezet Tash.
If rejected	Appeal through the Rakezet Tash. The order has two levels: a muvhak refusal goes to the exceptions committee, whose decision can be appealed to a committee headed by the head of the Mofat department (§6-7); each gives reasoned written decisions
Hotlines	Kol Zchut: IDF service line 1111Soldiers' Complaints Commissioner (נציב קבילות החיילים) 03-6977374, 24-hour lone-soldier line 03-7375200. NBN lists the IDF lone-soldier department's line from abroad, +972-3-5691000. FIDF and NBN run a 24-hour call center
Changes	Report any change in the circumstances behind the recognition to the Tash staff within 14 days (order §8ד). Recognition of a muvhak soldier whose parents are on shlichut ends with the shlichut or with service, whichever is earlier (§8ב). Recognition can be granted retroactively where a delay in filing or handling was not the soldier's fault or is justified (§9)

Recognition gates the lone-soldier package. None of the grants, rent assistance, flights, or post-discharge rent below apply without it. (Kol Zchut: some lodging can also be provided to unrecognized soldiers under "הלנה מטעמי פרט".)

Step 3: Active-Duty Monthly Grant

Source quote (kolzchut monthly grant): "Lone soldiers are entitled to a fixed monthly grant, at a rate of 100% of the base pay of a private in mandatory service."

A fixed monthly grant equal to 100% of a private's (turai) base salary in mandatory service, paid automatically with the regular pay once recognized, whatever the soldier's rank or tier. Combat and combat-support lone soldiers get an additional boded grant on top of it, by activity level (א'+ and א').

Amounts: two published tables disagree, and neither is dated 2026.

Item	IDF benefits page (undated, read 2026-10-07)	NBN lone-soldier benefits table ("as of February 2024")
Lone-soldier monthly grant	₪601.2	₪637.11
Extra grant, activity level א'+ / combat (NBN calls it "Risk Pay")	₪467.2	₪495.05
Extra grant, activity level א' / combat support (NBN: "Risk Pay")	₪233.7	₪247.68

The NBN figures are uniformly higher, so the IDF page is probably older. Give the mechanism, quote both with their dates, and send the user to Mashak Tash for the current amount. Do not present either as the 2026 figure.

Oleh lone soldiers get a SECOND monthly grant from the Aliyah Ministry that STACKS on the IDF grant. Per Kol Zchut, it is 100% of a private's base salary (150% for olim from Ethiopia). Eligible: on the enlistment day no more than 5 years have passed since aliyah (10 for olim from Ethiopia), AND the soldier either holds an independent Teudat Oleh with parents not in Israel, or is an oleh, returning minor, ezrach oleh or toshav chozer recognized by the IDF as a lone soldier. Apply at an Aliyah Ministry service bureau (call 03-9733333 first) with Teudat Oleh, a bank confirmation, the lone-soldier certificate and a service confirmation with the expected discharge date, re-presented every half year. Eligibility is renewed every year and runs to the end of service. Past the 5 years is not automatically the end: the Aliyah Ministry appeals committee handles exceptions, and a soldier more than 3 years in Israel who studied before enlisting may apply as an exception with a Student Authority confirmation. Ethiopian-origin soldiers also have an Amharic IDF help line, 03-5690822. Estranged-track Israeli lone soldiers who are not olim do NOT get this grant.

Step 4: Housing During Service

Source quote (kolzchut housing-expense assistance): "Lone soldiers are entitled to receive from the IDF participation in rent and expenses for maintaining the apartment such as: water, gas and house committee."

Option	Detail
Rented apartment	IDF participation in rent plus apartment maintenance (water, gas, vaad bayit), requested via the unit Tash staff with the lease attached. If the lease requires advance payment, up to 3 months can be paid in advance, so Kol Zchut advises not to commit to paying the whole lease up front, and to add a clause letting the soldier cancel if, for example, the parents make aliyah. An oleh lone soldier who is also entitled to olim rent assistance gets an addition to it. NBN's February 2024 table lists ₪1,482.49 rent assistance and ₪372.39 apartment maintenance a month; treat both as dated
Arnona	Exemption, a separate benefit on the same Kol Zchut page
Electricity	50% off the first 400 kWh a month at the domestic rate (Kol Zchut: about ₪129 a month at most, as of January 2026), only for a lone soldier receiving the rent participation. Automatic: the IDF sends a file to the electricity company, matched on the name and ID number of the account holder. If the contract is in someone else's name the discount will not arrive; transfer the contract. Missing discount: call 103
Kibbutz	Especially for closed units: furnished room, laundry and food, an "adoptive family", a separate room for combat soldiers, and a ₪150 a month kibbutz grant
Alach / "Yachad Lema'an HaChayal" apartment	IDF-rented, furnished, usually 4 rooms for 6 soldiers, no rent or municipal taxes; vacate on discharge
Beit HaChayal	Permanent residence possible, plus free lodging on regular leave, long weekends and holidays at any branch with a free bed (call ahead; show the lone-soldier certificate, military ID and proof of the leave type)

Active-duty help ends on discharge day; the post-discharge benefit (Step 6) starts then.

Step 5: Leave, Flights and Other Active-Duty Benefits

Benefit	Detail	Source
Funded flight home, "Longing to go home"	Only for a "muvhak" lone soldier; an estrangement-track soldier with family in Israel does not reach it. The sources disagree on children of shlichim: Kol Zchut includes parents on shlichut of at least six months, while the IDF benefits page says "every muvhak lone soldier, except a child of shlichim" (every muvhak lone soldier EXCEPT a child of shlichim). Tell a shlichut family the IDF page excludes them and have them confirm with Mashak Tash before buying anything. After 8 months of service; non-combat 1 funded flight during service, combat 2 (not in the same year), per Kol Zchut's eligibility section, although the same page's summary says funding is given once; confirm the second flight with Mashak Tash. Covers the ticket, port fees AND medical insurance; the soldier pays passport and visas. Passport valid at least six months from the flight date (IDF page); leave approval before booking (Kol Zchut). Request via Mashak Tash.	IDF page + kolzchut
Leave to visit parents abroad	Order §11ז: 30 days per service year (365 days from enlistment) to visit a first-degree relative abroad, in addition to the regular special-leave quota, splittable, not carried over. Kol Zchut instead counts these 30 days inside its 60-day special-leave figure; confirm with the Rakezet Tash. The order grants it to any lone soldier with a first-degree relative abroad; Kol Zchut limits it to a muvhak soldier visiting parents. Not to countries barred for field-security reasons. The IDF does not insure a soldier abroad on leave; outside the funded flight, buy private travel insurance. Keep a valid Israeli passport for urgent travel; every mandatory soldier gets a passport-fee discount.	order + kolzchut
Leave when parents visit Israel	Order §11ו: 8 special-leave days per calendar year while the parents are visiting, 4 for a soldier in initial training or a course, more if the commander approves; not carried over. (Kol Zchut phrases it as at least 4 per half year and 8 a year.)	order + kolzchut
Special leave	For an exceptional personal problem (such as a severe, urgent financial one). Up to 60 days per service year, of which 30 are only for visiting parents abroad (kolzchut: "shall not exceed 60 days in a service year, of which 30 ... a parents' visit abroad"). The first 5 days of each leave come from the regular leave bank.	kolzchut
Errands day (day of errands)	Order §11ג: at least once every two months, coordinated with the commander, not counted against annual or special leave; once a month in initial training; never on a Friday or holiday eve. Order §11ד: 2 leave days for each move of apartment or housing solution.	order + kolzchut
Marriage grant	Per the IDF page: a one-time grant of about ₪1,080, plus three months of "arrangements" during which boded benefits continue. A soldier discharged DURING those three months keeps the discharged-lone-soldier benefits (including the Step 6 rent); one discharged AFTER them does not ("shall not be entitled to benefits").	IDF page
Food and holiday vouchers	IDF page: automatic ₪150 a month in the Hoger app (Kovoret, Shufersal, Yesh Chesed, Yeinot Beitan, Mega BaIr), each month usable for 60 days; residents of "Yachad Lema'an HaChayal" apartments get ₪400 a month in total instead. Holiday vouchers for Rosh Hashanah and Pesach: Kol Zchut says about ₪250 per holiday, the IDF page says the amount changes yearly.	IDF page + kolzchut

Step 5.5: Additional Benefits Many Lone Soldiers Miss

The Kol Zchut hub and the IDF page list more: early release before Shabbat (the order and Kol Zchut differ on who qualifies), increased subsistence pay, a monthly calling card for olim, the IDF "stars" credit, psychometric funding, a private-work permit, glasses and hearing aids, and post-discharge scholarships. Table with conditions: references/additional-benefits.md.

Step 6: Post-Discharge, 12-Month Rent Assistance via hachvana

Source quote (hachvana SingleSolders/Rent): "Assistance with rent in the amount of up to 12,000 NIS in the first year after your release from mandatory service, according to the following breakdown: up to 1,000 NIS per month, for a period of up to 12 months of rent."

Aspect	Detail
Amount	Up to 1,000 NIS per month; below 1,000, the refund is the rent actually paid
Cap	Up to 12 rental months, 12,000 NIS
Rent only	Bills are NOT covered: no arnona, electricity, gas or vaad bayit
Window	Registration AND the declaration must be filed within the first year after mandatory service ends. In the personal area the benefit is labeled by year ("שנת 2026")
Document	Since 01.07.2026: only a declaration form (declaration form) signed by the soldier and the landlord. Check bank details in the personal area first (SMS confirmation within 48 hours)
Payments	Two payments of up to 6,000 NIS, each for at most 6 rental months. The first covers the first 6 months of the lease; request the second no later than 4 months after that period ends, choosing the year of the FIRST request even if the lease runs into the next year. If the first request was filed only after those 6 months had passed, file the second one immediately via *5266
Lease started during service	Only months after discharge are reimbursed (hachvana's example: lease from 1 January, discharge 1 March, refund for 10 months)
Completion to 12 months	If the lease started during service, or a shorter lease was declared, the remainder is still owed: right after the second payment, call *5266 for a completion request (completion request)
Moving apartment	Upload a new signed declaration; the new lease must start within 3 months of the previous one ending. Months already reimbursed count against the 12
Beit HaChayal after discharge	Up to 3 months free (requested month by month via the hachvana personal area). Those months are deducted from the rent-assistance period (Kol Zchut: "these months will be deducted from the eligibility period for rent assistance")
Timing	Declaration checked within 7 business days (excluding Fridays and holidays); after SMS approval, payment within 14 business days
Terms may change	By decision of the Fund for the Absorption of Discharged Soldiers. Re-check the page
Hotline	hachvana *5266; 24-hour lone-soldier line 03-7375200

What hachvana does not say: how a month split by a mid-month discharge is prorated, and how lease months past the first anniversary are treated. Do not answer either; send the user to *5266.

Step 6.5: The Last Months Before Discharge

A soldier who is about to be discharged should, in order:

• Use what exists only during service: the funded flight is defined per service period, and leave days belong to service. No source offers either after discharge.
• Confirm with the Rakezet Tash that boded status is recorded through discharge; it is the condition for every post-discharge benefit.
• If marrying, mind the three-month window in Step 5.
• Decide between up to 3 free months in a Beit HaChayal and renting at once, knowing the months come off the rent period.
• Keep the salary bank account open: per hachvana, a discharged lone soldier gets an advance on the discharge grant within 14 days (missing: IDF line 1111, extension 2), and the full grant arrives within 60 days to the same account.
• Register for the rent benefit and upload the declaration within the first year; update bank details first.
• Use hachvana's lone-soldier services: personal counselling and a dedicated Telegram channel for discharged lone soldiers.

Step 7: Lone-Soldier Pikadon + Extended 10-Year Window

There is no lone-soldier "Pikadon Mugdal": the Pikadon follows the same per-tier amounts and the same 6 permitted purposes as for everyone (amounts in israeli-discharged-soldier-navigator).

Easy to get backwards: the 10-year lone-soldier window covers the §7 / §7א BENEFITS, not the Pikadon. The Pikadon may be used for the 6 purposes during the first 5 years; after that, per hachvana's deposit page, the unused balance is transferred automatically to the bank account in the personal area, for any use. Pikadon money can be used only in Israel ("may be redeemed within the territory of the State of Israel only"). The law page also records that the realization period was extended from 7 to 10 years for everyone discharged after 12.7.2007, a universal rule, not a boded benefit.

Item	Regular discharged soldier	Lone soldier
Pikadon for the 6 purposes	First 5 years	First 5 years (the same)
§7 benefits: completing or improving bagrut, dedicated pre-academic mechina tracks, handasaim, vocational training	5 years	10 years
§7א benefit: scholarship for the first year of a bachelor's degree	5 years	10 years

Source quote (hachvana, MoD): "Discharged lone soldiers and active reserve soldiers will be entitled to receive the benefits in section 7 of the law and section 7a of the law as specified in section 1, for a period of 10 years"

Source: hachvana.mod.gov.il/odot/Pages/hakdamalachock.aspx

A concrete example on hachvana: a discharged lone soldier, within 10 years of discharge at registration, gets full mechina tuition plus a monthly living stipend for a dedicated pre-academic or bagrut-completion mechina, in addition to the Pikadon; those discharged July 2021 or later register directly with the mechina using the lone-soldier confirmation from the "HaArnak HaTzahali" app. Hachvana also refunds a psychometric course and test for discharged lone soldiers.

The six Pikadon purposes (studies, vocational training, marriage, a business, driving lessons, buying an apartment or land, NOT rent) and the full mechanics belong to israeli-discharged-soldier-navigator.

Step 8: Diaspora and Israeli NGO Support

Nefesh B'Nefesh + FIDF, Garin Tzabar, the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin, the Aguda LeMaan HaChayal and Mahal-volunteer resources operate alongside the IDF and MoD. Route every lone soldier to them ALONGSIDE the official applications, not instead of them, and let each organization's own site state its current programs. Mahal volunteers: no source we could verify states their recognition or post-discharge rules, so have them confirm recognition with the Rakezet Tash and rent eligibility with *5266 rather than assuming either way.

Directory: references/diaspora-orgs-directory.md.

Step 8.5: Operational Items and Reserve Duty

Bank details decide whether money arrives: hachvana pays the rent refund and the post-5-year Pikadon balance to the account in the personal area, and the Aliyah-Ministry grant asks for a bank confirmation. Active-duty arnona and electricity relief are not stated to continue after discharge, so do not promise it.

Reserve duty: per hachvana, a soldier recognized as boded through discharge is treated as a lone soldier in reserves for 10 years from discharge; under the Iron Swords definition the reservist must also have done more than 60 cumulative reserve days in the war. Route reserve questions to israeli-miluim-manager and hachvana's page for lone soldiers in reserves.

Details: references/operational-items.md.

Step 9: Oleh Lone Soldiers: Aliyah Intersections

Kol Zchut defines an oleh under Chok HaShvut. Citizenship, the absorption basket and general aliyah benefits are outside this skill (route to the aliyah skills); this skill covers only the intersections: the Aliyah-Ministry grant (Step 3), the olim rent-assistance addition (Step 4), and the fact that the Pikadon can be used only in Israel (Step 7). See references/citizenship-and-aliyah.md.

Step 10: Required Documents Checklist

Per-benefit documents: references/documents-checklist.md.

Examples

Example 1: Oleh chayalet bodedet discharging in two months, parents in the US

User says: "I'm a chayalet bodedet, discharging in two months, parents in the US. What do I get after, and what should I do now?"

Actions:

1. Before discharge (Step 6.5): if she has not used her funded flight or her yearly abroad leave, they exist only during service; confirm her boded status is on record through discharge.
2. After discharge: rent assistance up to 1,000 NIS a month for up to 12 rental months (12,000 NIS), registered and documented within year 1 by a declaration signed with the landlord. Rent only, no bills.
3. If she first takes the up-to-3 free months in a Beit HaChayal, those months come off the rent period.
4. If her lease started before discharge or is shorter than 12 months, she requests completion of the remainder via *5266 after the second payment.
5. Her §7 / §7א study benefits run 10 years, including a fully funded mechina with a living stipend. Route the regular stack (Pikadon by tier, discharge grant) to israeli-discharged-soldier-navigator.

Example 2: Israeli parent estranged from soldier child

User says: "My daughter is formally recognized as bodedet (we have not been in contact for 3 years). What happens when she finishes the army?"

Actions:

1. Until discharge: monthly grant, housing help, errands days and special leave. The funded flight does not apply (muvhak only). Abroad leave: only with a first-degree relative abroad (Step 5).
2. After discharge: the same post-discharge rent assistance (Step 6) applies whatever the recognition track.
3. Regular discharged-soldier stack: route to israeli-discharged-soldier-navigator.
4. She can also contact the Lone Soldier Center and the other organizations in Step 8.

Example 3: Parent abroad planning a visit, son is a lone soldier

User says: "My son is a lone soldier in the IDF. I'm flying to Israel next month. Can he get time off, and can he fly home later?"

Actions:

1. While a parent visits Israel, a lone soldier gets 8 special-leave days per calendar year (4 in initial training or a course), more with the commander's approval; he asks the Rakezet Tash.
2. Flight home: after 8 months of service, 1 funded flight (2 for combat, not in the same year), ticket, port fees and medical insurance covered. If the family is abroad on shlichut, warn that the IDF page excludes children of shlichim and confirm with Mashak Tash first.
3. The yearly 30-day abroad leave without the funded flight is not insured by the IDF; buy travel insurance.

Recommended MCP Servers

No public MCP server exists for hachvana.mod.gov.il or IDF systems. Recognition and benefit applications go through the user's authenticated personal area or the unit Tash staff.

Reference Links

Source	URL	What to check
Kol Zchut: lone soldier hub	https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/חייל_בודד	Definition, recognition, IDF Order 35.0808 reference
Kol Zchut: monthly grant	https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/מענק_חודשי_לחיילים_בודדים	100% of private base salary mechanic
Kol Zchut: rent during service	https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/סיוע_בהוצאות_דיור_לחיילים_בודדים	Rent and maintenance participation, Tash application
Kol Zchut: lone soldiers portal	https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/חיילים_בודדים	Full list of named benefits, post-discharge layer
hachvana: lone-soldier post-discharge rent	https://www.hachvana.mod.gov.il/ExtraBenefits/SingleSolders/Pages/Rent.aspx	12,000 NIS / 12-month cap, payments, completion rule
IDF: lone-soldier economic benefits	https://www.idf.il/השירות-שלי/מסלולי-שירות-ייחודיים/חיילים-בודדים/הטבות-כלכליות-קבועות-לחיילים-בודדים/	Grant amounts, vouchers, flight exclusion, marriage grant (renders only in a real browser)
Nefesh B'Nefesh + FIDF Lone Soldier Program	https://www.nbn.org.il/nbnlsp/lone-soldier-benefits/	Dated benefits table, hotlines, pre-aliyah support
Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin	https://www.lonesoldiercenter.com/	Community programs
Companion skill	israeli-discharged-soldier-navigator	Regular base discharged-soldier stack

Gotchas

• Apply the moment you are eligible. Recognition itself can be granted retroactively (order §9), but neither Kol Zchut nor hachvana says whether the active-duty rent participation or the Aliyah-Ministry grant is paid retroactively. Do not answer either way; say every month of delay may be unrecoverable. The phone card is explicitly not refunded retroactively.
• The flight cap caps ONE program, not all travel abroad. A soldier who has used the funded flights and then faces a parent's death or critical illness abroad goes straight to Mashak Tash and the Aguda; do not say nothing remains. Kol Zchut also notes that in special cases, at the IDF's request, the Aguda flies family members to Israel.
• Do not quote a grant amount as current. The two published tables (Step 3) differ and neither is dated 2026.
• The post-discharge rent benefit is "first year". Registration and the declaration must be in within 12 months of discharge; there is no published late route. Set an explicit reminder for olim returning to family abroad temporarily.
• The monthly grant is 100% of a PRIVATE'S base salary, NOT of the soldier's actual pay. A combat lone soldier earns the combat rate plus the turai-scale grant.
• Estrangement-track lone soldiers get the same grant, housing help and post-discharge rent, but not the funded flight or the Aliyah-Ministry grant, which need muvhak or olim status.
• Keva ends lone-soldier status. A soldier in keva, or in mandatory service under keva terms, is not a lone soldier (Kol Zchut).
• Mahal is NOT the oleh lone-soldier track. The volunteers' guide site describes Mahal as a gate for non-Israelis and overseas Israelis. Do not assume their benefits either way (Step 8).
• For the regular discharged-soldier package, route to israeli-discharged-soldier-navigator. Pikadon by tier, discharge grant, nekudot zikui Section 39a, Mimadim. This skill adds only the lone-soldier layer.

Bundled Resources

Scripts

• scripts/post-discharge-rent-estimator.py, Estimate the post-discharge rent refund for one lease. Run: python scripts/post-discharge-rent-estimator.py --discharge-date 2026-03-15 --rent-start 2026-04-01 --rent-monthly 5000 --rent-months 12 (12 months, 12,000 NIS). --rent-start may precede discharge; --beit-hachayal-months and --months-already-reimbursed reduce the remaining entitlement; --filing-date checks the first-year rule. Without --rent-months the output is an upper bound, not an entitlement.

References

• references/domain-checklist.md, Canonical coverage list for future update runs.
• references/recognition-process.md, Forms per phase, documents per track, appeal, status changes.
• references/diaspora-orgs-directory.md, NBN, FIDF, Garin Tzabar, Lone Soldier Center, Aguda, Mahal resources.
• references/additional-benefits.md, The easily-missed named entitlements (Step 5.5).
• references/documents-checklist.md, Required documents per benefit (Step 10).
• references/operational-items.md, Bank details, arnona, electricity, reserve duty, marriage (Step 8.5).
• references/citizenship-and-aliyah.md, Aliyah intersections (Step 9).

Troubleshooting

Error: "Post-discharge rent application rejected, 'no recognition record'"

Cause: The soldier was not recorded as recognized during service. Living alone does not qualify; recognition through Form 7304 or Form 62 is required. Solution: If recognition WAS granted but is missing from the record, ask the unit Tash staff or the 24-hour lone-soldier line for documentation. If it was never requested, the post-discharge boded benefits cannot be claimed.

Error: "Discharged 14 months ago, missed the rent application"

Cause: The first-year window has closed. Solution: hachvana requires registration and the declaration within the first year and publishes no late route, so treat the benefit as lost unless *5266 says otherwise. Turn to what remains: the §7 / §7א benefits (10 years), the regular stack in israeli-discharged-soldier-navigator, and NGO help.

Error: "Active-duty rent benefit denied because parents recently moved to Israel"

Cause: Eligibility depends on the parental situation; if the parents moved to Israel, the soldier may no longer be a lone soldier. Solution: If the move is temporary or the soldier still has no real family support, re-present the case to the Rakezet Tash. No source publishes from which date benefits stop, so do not quote one. Kol Zchut advises a lease clause allowing cancellation if the parents make aliyah.

Error: "Trying to log in to the hachvana personal area, the method I was told to use is not accepted"

Cause: The benefit page does not document the sign-in method, so instructions from other sources may be out of date. Solution: Use whichever method the hachvana sign-in screen currently offers. If it still fails, call *5266.

Error: "Recognition request rejected despite living alone in Israel"

Cause: Living alone is not one of the recognized categories by itself. Solution: Appeal through the Rakezet Tash (two levels, Step 2). For a no-contact case, add the social worker or school counselor report and financial documents. Kol Zchut requires no documents from an oleh who came alone, so if such a soldier was rejected, ask the Rakezet Tash exactly what was missing.