Reservists and conscripts are the lifeblood of the Israel Defense Forces. Brigadier General Ariel Heyman – also a reservist and former chief reserve officer – says Israel is too small a country to have a large, expensive, professional, regular army. According to him, the IDF would not be able to fight or survive without reservists.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the IDF has 170,000 active military personnel, including conscripts, and 465,000 reserves.
Brigadier General Hayman acknowledges that the IDF’s reliance on reserves will become more difficult the longer the war drags on. He compared the IDF to a spring – if it is stretched too much, it will break. For now, he says he’s coping.
But as a sign of tension, the IDF wants to extend mandatory service for male conscripts from 32 to 36 months.
The fact that the burden of service does not fall on everyone also fueled the feeling of resentment. One group has been exempt from military service for decades — thousands of Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, Jews. They believe that the lives of their young people should be devoted to religious studies, not to military service.
This issue has already divided Israel’s coalition government. But after the intervention of the Attorney General, the conscription documents were sent to 7,000 Haredi Jews. They responded with angry protests. But Brigadier Heyman, like ousted former defense minister Yoav Galant, says they have a “moral obligation to serve”.
