Defense Minister Gallant: IDF needs 10,000 more recruits
'Unlike planes or bombs, soldiers cannot be brought from abroad, so we need to recruit more,' Defense Minister Gallant says
"The army needs 10,000 more soldiers immediately," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday.
"The IDF says they can recruit another 3,000 ultra-Orthodox in the coming year in addition to those already enlisting," he said. "In the meantime, we have agreed with the ultra-Orthodox that we will increase every year by 5 percent and reach 50 percent in five years. Perhaps it is better to pass regulations instead of a law."
"Look at the situation we are in - we need more soldiers," he added.
"These soldiers should come from the extension of regular service, from reserves, and from an ultra-Orthodox population that must mobilize at an ever-increasing rate."
He slammed government ministers for political considerations that prevented a solution to reduced service, which is set to decrease the number of months of regular service from 32 months to 30 months. This comes despite his efforts to increase mandatory time in the military instead back to 36 months, adding that "today we are releasing 6,700 people from the reserve."
"I came here first of all to tell you, my friends, the members of the Knesset - the defense establishment and the IDF are not someone else's body, they do not belong to any party, they belong to us, to all of us," he concluded.
"We are all partners, from all factions of the house, from all places and we need the soldiers. The soldiers are ready now, but they want support, they want to join, they want sympathy, and I see that everywhere I meet soldiers, so I put this issue on the agenda."
This comes amid a wave of protests against the government's planned drafting of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students, who were exempt for decades from military service.
Recently, Israel's top court struck down a law passed to enshrine the policy, but the principle of equality overturned the vote during a particularly trying time for the military as it lacks manpower.