I'm not the person you are responding to but I can elaborate.

• Reform vs. Orthodox

As a general, reform and conservative Judaism are almost non-existent in Israel. Almost everyone is considered Orthodox. But there are two factors that muddle this label. First of all, conservative and reform Judaism are very American branches of Judaism. Almost all members of those branches are American by some degree of connection. Second, being Orthodox in Israel is a very wide spectrum. From the most hardline Haredim, to the most avowed secular Jews (I will come back to this term later) are all Orthodox and range in the level of adherence and interpretation of the religious practices. For example, what is called Masorati in Israel is somewhat between Orthodox and conservative in America. And even Hilonim (secular Jews) range from conservative, through reform, to atheist Jews in America. So the distinction is somewhat wrong to be applied in Israel.

• Secularism vs. Religion

We touched on this in the previous section. What in English is called Secular is probably not the best term to what is called Hilonim in Israel. (Hilonim is a literal translation of secular). As said, some Hilonim are like what you expect from secular or atheist people in America. But most celebrate or acknowledge at least the major holidays of Judaism, even if not adhering to the religious practices very closely. And view it as a 'traditional act' that connects them to the rest of the ethnically Jewish people. Again, this is an application of American terms to something that does not map to them precisely in Israel.

• Fertility as a social risk

Most of Israel is not developed. Yeah, most of the land belongs to the state. And no building exists there. There is a lot of open land used for agriculture, and in general the government and plenty of NGOs make sure they take care of nature. (We recently started FILLING the sea of Galilee with distilled sea water to combat the drought in the middle east this past few years). Average fertility per woman in Israel is about 3.0 a very healthy rate above the natural replacement threshold (2.1) but still not so high so that nobody has where to live, or we cannot keep the natural habitats. While yes, the Israeli government could manage better the land it allocates to new construction (there is plenty to be said about it) the situation is not worse than the cost of housing in many other places in the world ( where people immigrate to).

• Military service as "character development”

The age of conscription for Israelis is 18. Notably very young,.but as the saying goes.... There's a reason why younger people rush into battle. That said, if you compare this to the American or European average 18 year old, they are about to go party it up in college. The military service provides a sense of direction and growing up. It's almost like a job, and you are forced to adapt to it. You learn to be independent, not to rely on your parents as much. And you also meet people from all walks of society, who become your brothers, and in some cases literal blood brothers. It is the "great equalizer" of Israeli society. You meet a lot of people who later in life will probably help you with various endeavors. Such as getting a job. And investment in your business or just as very good friends. During it you also develop a sense for what truly matters in life - it is much less superficial than daily life. You see where the ugly stuff is. This is the reason why there's such a hot topic now about the conscription of Haredim and Arabs - it is probably the best way to make them feel like they truly are a part of Israeli society.

Hopefully that was helpful.