30 percent of reservists feel exploited
Poll conducted prior to Second Lebanon War says only 60 percent of reserve soldiers proud to serve; ‘we saw how they gave of themselves during the war, and if we won’t treat them right we may lose them,’ senior army official says
Only 60 percent of reserve soldiers are proud to serve in the IDF and a third believe they are being exploited, according to a poll conducted prior to the Second Lebanon War.
The poll will be submitted to a public council tasked with presenting recommendations on how to implement the lessons drawn from the war.
The council is headed by former Shin Bet chief Yaakov Peri, and among its members are former Meretz Knesset Member Yossi Sarid, former IDF Northern Command chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Peled and business mogul Shari Arison.
Despite promises by the army and legislators to improve the salaries of reservists, the issue is not mentioned in the new army reserve law. In addition, the long-awaited decrease in reserve duty days has been pushed back to March, 2010.
According to statistics presented to the council only slightly more than one percent of Israelis serve more than eight days of reserve duty per year.
“Something must be done regarding the reserve soldiers,” a senior IDF official told Ynet. “We saw how they gave of themselves during the war, and if we won’t treat them right we may lose them."
The number of reservists who feel exploited dropped from 39 percent in 2003.
The forum for reserve soldiers said in response, “It would be better if they stopped talking and started acting. The reservists have had enough of the promises made by ‘respectable’ committees.
“It is time to legislate a fair army reserve law,” the group said.
