The government on Sunday unanimously approved a law extending the mandatory military service of regular soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. The temporary order sets service for male recruits at 32 months to 36 months and will depend on whether they are serving in combat or non-combat roles.
According to the bill, the mandatory service for men will stand at 32 months. "The length of service of male military recruits will be adjusted to the formations, units and positions in which they serve. The default is that a man will be required to serve a period of 32 months, but the defense minister will determine in a decree with the approval of the Knesset's Foreign and Security Committee the formations, units, professions and positions in which the length of service will be shorter - provided that it is not less than 28 months," it said.
The proposal further states that "those who will be required for a period of service exceeding 28 months, will receive from the 29th month of their service an additional reward, which will be paid in addition to the payments paid due to a serviceman. The extra money is intended for recruits who serve longer, and according to the law "will express special appreciation for their service."
Although the explanatory notes state that the extension of conscription will only begin from the entry into force of the law, there is an intention to apply the law retroactively to those who are already serving, but they are expected to receive extra financial compensation for between 32 months and 36 months of service.
The attorney general's office made it clear to the IDF that the proposed law contained a violation of equality between those recruited for mandatory service in positions where the service period is 28 months (or 32 during the extension period), and those who will be recruited for positions where the service period will exceed 28 months - or 32 months during the extension period.
"This is going to lead to more damage to the basic rights and freedoms of the individual that stems from the fact that regular service is mandatory service for those who will serve a longer time in mandatory service," according to the legal opinion. Apart from that, the opinion stated that "in particular regarding the temporary extension order, it is proposed to increase the burden placed on the serving population, thereby increasing the inequality vis-à-vis groups in the population who do not serve."
Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon wrote in the opinion that "increasing the burden on those serving for years, without simultaneously taking actual actions to recruit yeshiva students and share the burden is unconstitutional."
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a cabinet discussion that: "We need to both extend IDF service and recruit the ultra-Orthodox. There are not enough soldiers. Without extending the service and recruiting ultra-Orthodox together we cannot win."
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Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addresses the Knesset plenum
(Photo: Danny Shem Tov, Knesset Channel)
At the same time, Gallant approved the recommendation of the IDF personnel department for a series of additional benefits for reservists with families who are participating in operational activity in combat sectors during summer vacation. Through the aid fund, assistance will be increased for summer camp payments for reservists with children up to the age of 14 who serve on dates that coincide with summer camp.
This is in addition to the existing summer camp grant, which amounts to 1,500 shekels for those who perform five reserve days during the summer vacation months and have children under the age of 16. In addition, the amount of aid for babysitting services will be increased from 2,000 shekels to 3,500 shekels per service member, according to the policy of the aid fund.
At the meeting of the political-security cabinet on Thursday night, the cabinet decided that mandatory service in the IDF should be extended to three years. For almost nine years, mandatory service has been 32 months and, according to the existing service law, it was supposed to be shortened by two months to 30 months. The IDF demanded a return to 36 months of service, due to the heavy burden caused by the war and the lack of soldiers.
About two weeks ago, Gallant said in a debate in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that "the IDF is a body of all of us that does not belong to any one party. Unlike airplanes or bombs, soldiers cannot be brought from abroad, so we need to recruit more. We are going in the opposite direction from everything we need - in recruiting ultra-Orthodox, extending regular service and increasing the age of exemption from reserve service; We must act together, the soldiers are ready to do everything but ask for a tailwind."