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Reserve duty in Israel is the civilian obligation to serve in the state's security forces, usually within the framework of the Israel Defense Forces, applicable to every citizen or permanent resident who has not been exempted from service and is not in regular service. The purpose of reserve duty is to reinforce the regular army in emergency situations: war, military operations, or natural disasters; and in routine: training and readiness and ongoing security.

Exemption from reserve duty is widespread – in practice, only about 6% of the population registered in the reserves, and only about 1.5% of the population are active reservists, serving more than twenty days every three years. [1] Reserve soldiers are deployed in reserve units, where they hold most positions up to company commander level, [2] as well as staff positions in divisions and brigades of the reserves, and some are deployed in regular army units. During peacetime, the reserve system is primarily engaged in training and preparation – thus, for example, in 2018, their participation reached 64% of reserve duty days. [3]

The serving population, which performed two million reserve duty days in 2018, [3] counted 400,000 individuals [4] with an average age of 32 for combat support personnel and 30 for combat soldiers [5]. It constitutes 70% of the IDF's force structure and 17% of them are officers. [6]

Women's service in the reserves was rare until the mid-1990s, when many military professions were opened to them, subject to the condition that to accept certain positions, many of the female soldiers were required to agree to serve in the reserves after their regular service. The percentage of women in the reserve system grew from a single digit in 2002 to 7% in 2012 [1] and up to 17% in 2022 [2]. Women perform about 9% of all reserve duty days [3]. In the operational and intelligence system, they perform about 50% of the total reserve duty days [2].

The legal obligation to serve in the reserves has been established for many years in the Security Service Law, and since 2008 it has been regulated primarily in the Reserve Service Law. The law, alongside other processes, led the IDF to reduce the scope of reserve duty days in recent decades, mainly for budgetary reasons, as a reserve duty day costs the army an additional NIS 500. By reducing the number of annual reserve duty days by 83% between 2004 and 2017, the IDF reduced its expenses by four billion shekels [4]. In addition to legislation, in 2004 the government decided that on Lag BaOmer each year, "Reservists Appreciation Day" will be marked to arouse public support and appreciation for the reservists [5].

The professional officer in charge of the reserve system within the IDF's Personnel Directorate is the Chief Reserves Officer (in Hebrew: קמל"ר), and his rank is Lieutenant Colonel.

Reserve Duty Obligation

Reserve duty is a requirement in the State of Israel and is considered part of the national ethos. In practice, the percentage of those serving in the reserve system has decreased over the years, and it mainly consists of IDF combat veterans. This situation sometimes leads to feelings of resentment among reserve soldiers.

The number of reserve duty days for a soldier was previously determined by the Security Service Law, standing at 36 days per year. With the introduction of the Reserve Service Law in 2010, the army adopted a triennial model, according to which the duration of service every three years is 54 days for a regular soldier, 70 days for a non-commissioned officer, and up to 84 days for an officer. However, the Minister of Defense, with the approval of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, may extend the duration of service to 108 days if he believes that longer training and preparation periods are necessary or for certain roles and professions. The summoning of reservists for ongoing security missions has also been limited, with its scope now up to 25 days, once every three years. Here too, the Minister of Defense may increase the frequency of summons.

The call-up of a soldier for reserve duty is done through a call-up order – a communication sent to the soldier detailing the duration of reserve duty and the location of service. In the event of training and ongoing security missions, a reservist who finds that the order may significantly interfere with their work or studies may appeal to the Reserves Coordination Committee (Va'adam Leti'um Milu'im) to set an alternative date, shorten the period of service, or be exempted from that summons. In addition to regular call-ups, soldiers may be summoned for reserve duty in emergency situations, with immediate notification, under a directive known as "Order 8" (so named because the authority to issue it was in section 8 of the Security Service Law of 1949. In 1959, a new Security Service Law was enacted, and the provision was moved to section 26, and in 1986 to section 34, but the name of the order remained the same. In the Reserve Service Law enacted in 2008, the provisions regarding Order 8 were moved to section 8).

Since 2001, reserve duty has also been enforced in the Border Guard. Initially, this principle was established as a temporary measure, but the Reserve Service Law anchors reserve duty in the Border Guard as a permanent provision, subject to the consent of the reservist or if they also serve in regular service. Reserve duty is also performed in special units of the Prime Minister's Office, such as the General Security Service and the "Mossad."

Erosion in the People's Army Model

From a legislative perspective in Israel and the accepted social norms, regular service and reserve duty are mandatory for most citizens and residents of Israel based on the ethos of the "People's Army" model. The central principles of this ethos are: universal compulsory conscription; the majority of combat power is not salaried; the army is not sectorial; it represents the realization of a national ethos of individual contribution to society, especially given the recognition of the importance of security efforts; and it creates a collective experience. While this model has long been one of the hallmarks of the IDF, shifts in the army and Israeli society have led to a noticeable erosion in this ethos, especially in the reserve forces, as noted by the Head of the Personnel Directorate in the IDF, Major General Avi Zamir, in 2011: "[...] In mandatory service, the People's Army model still exists. Many aspects of the People's Army in reserve service are almost non-existent beyond the personal and voluntary component."

During the 1990s, there was a gradual decline in the number of annual reserve duty days, leading to public debate on the question "Does everyone serve in the army?",^{[https://www.idi.org.il/media/5883/כלהעםצבא.pdf "Does Everyone Serve in the Israeli Military Reserves?"] (PDF). Israel Democracy Institute. 2002. p. 11.} with a non-definitive answer.^{[https://web.archive.org/web/20200222224130if_/http://maarachot.idf.il/PDF/FILES/2/110472.pdf "Reserve Duty: A Discourse of Economists and Military Personnel"] (PDF). Maarachot. July 2003.} The factors contributing to the decline in the scope of reserve duty and the creation of inequality in burden-sharing include: certain improvement in the strategic situation, integration in the IDF of technology-intensive systems that do not require a large manpower or are not suitable for operation by reservists, significant population growth resulting in increased recruitment cycles, and budgetary pressure to save on reserve duty days. Additionally, there was a decrease in motivation to serve and a tendency among Israelis "to take care of their own,"^{Amir, Hagai (May 3, 2013). "The Bitter Sweet Bomb of Reservists: We Don't Enlist for Money, But Without Money, We Won't Enlist". TheMarker.} which could be implemented by evading service.^{[clarification needed]} Furthermore, as part of the increasing social sensitivity to military casualties, the government tends to keep reservists away from sensitive combat zones due to the political costs involved in deploying them there.^{[http://www.inss.org.il/he/publication/צבא-המילואים-שוקע/ "The Sinking Reserves Army"]. INSS. December 2011.}^{Harel, Amos (December 28, 2018). "Senior Reserve Officer: In the IDF They Tell Stories about Capability but Can't Accept Criticism". Haaretz.} All these developments currently allow maintaining the required security level while recruiting smaller and smaller segments of the population into the reserves and mandatory service. Moreover, the Military Service Law, enacted in 2008, limited the state's authority to draft reservists and established additional incentives for service members, so the principle of a professional army began to solidify beyond the practice that preceded it.

The law anchored the army's tendency to operate a selective reserve service, so young people insisting on exemption from reserve duty are exempted in most cases, even if they are officially obligated to serve. The mechanism for this arises from the wording of the law, which allows the army to call up reservists only in emergencies, for operational employment and training purposes, so the army's trend to release administrative soldiers from service roles is in line with the law's guidelines. Moreover, the Reserve Service Law obliges the IDF to maintain the fitness of reservists, thereby forcing it to release many soldiers who cannot be trained without exceeding budgetary constraints. This policy is reflected, among other things, in the implementation of the "Focus on Reserves" process based on the recommendations of the Ronny Numa Committee from 2014.^{[[#endnote_inss2|"The Reserves System: Where to?". Mazkir 183. Tel Aviv: INSS. October 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |editors= ignored (|editor= suggested) (help)]]} The process limits the manpower in a reserve unit to 120% of the establishment, which before this process reached up to 200% in some units, without reducing the number of units in the system. "Focus on Reserves" requires the remaining soldiers to have a higher readiness rate, thus improving their fitness, but it also increases the workload for each of them and disrupts the tactical functioning of the reserve unit since reservists sometimes struggle to disconnect from their daily routines and stand up for service.^{[clarification needed]} The Gideon Multi-Year Plan was a continuation of this trend – according to which the reserves were reduced by 100,000 soldiers and brigades and battalions were closed. Moreover, some argue that the army should have an even more active role in transitioning from a mandatory recruitment model to a voluntary army.^{Levy, Yigal. The "People's Army" vs. Mandatory Conscription. pp. 309–340.}

Based on the military service data, there has been a significant reduction in equality of burden. According to information published by the IDF in 2017, the weighted enlistment rate of men and women for regular service stands at about 65% of the enlistment potential, which is less than half of the general population aged for conscription. In contrast, the rate of active service in the reserves is even smaller: in 2014, there were about 180,000 "active" reservists, who served for 20 days or more over a period of three years. For comparison, in the same year, there were 1,694,000 Jews (men and women) aged 20–40 living in Israel, who are supposed to constitute the majority of the "service potential" of the reserve system, but the number of active reservists constitutes only 10.6% of this population group, and about 2% of the general population. Despite the public sensitivity on the issue, the IDF announced in 2016 that out of 2.1 million citizens aged 21 to 45 who served in the army, less than a quarter were registered for reserves at that time, and only six percent served in the reserves for at least 20 days in the previous three years. Their proportion in the population of active reservists was 1.5%. In 2017, the proportion of regular service discharged from serving more than 20 days in three years decreased to 5%. This trend is expected to continue, according to the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, Major General Hagi Topolansky, since 2015: "Training will be expanded, personnel will be reduced by 20%, and compensation will be increased. Anyone who wants to serve in the reserves is invited to do so. We are moving to a more quality reserve team, and more compensated." Based on enlistment data, statements by senior IDF officers, and reserve personnel compensation policy, it appears that the reserve system has been transitioning in recent years to a selective conscription model, which is partly voluntary and partly professional service.

Exemption from Reserve Duty

There are several reasons granting exemption from reserve duty:

Age Exemption – The statutory exemption age for reserve duty is 40 for soldiers, 45 for officers, and 49 for certain positions determined by the Minister of Defense with the approval of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (mainly medical roles, heavy vehicle drivers, mechanics, and technicians). Single women serve in the reserves until age 24 (or 34 in special professions), although according to the law, they can be called up until age 38. Additionally, thousands of individuals exempted from reserve duty due to age choose to continue and volunteer for reserve duty every year. In the past, the reserve duty exemption age was 54 for men and 38 for women, and soldiers over the age of 41 who still served in a combat unit for at least ten years, and soldiers over the age of 48 who previously served in a combat unit for at least twenty years, could not be called up unless they consented to it. Over the years, the IDF has advanced the maximum age at which reservists are called up, so the exemption age (early) for men was set at 40 for soldiers, 42 for combat officers, 45 for rear officers, 48 for GOMER (Home Front Command) personnel and units outside the army, and 51 for doctors. In 2008, the Knesset approved the Reserve Duty Law, and since then, fixed exemption ages have been in effect.
Exemption due to Pregnancy for Women – Women during pregnancy or after childbirth are not required to serve. However, many women volunteer to continue reserve duty even after the birth of their first child (especially in roles like medical personnel or casualty officers). Furthermore, there is also an exemption for married women who are not pregnant^[1].
Exemption due to Medical Unfitness – Similarly to the process in regular service, a soldier found medically unfit for service and given a Profile 21 will cease to serve in the reserves. Also, individuals with Profile 45 with a mental clause are automatically exempted from reserve duty (although their exemption reason will be "reduction of reserve forces" rather than medical unfitness).
Exemption due to Reduction of Reserve Forces – Combat support soldiers, mainly in open bases, are automatically exempted from reserve duty due to a reason of reduction of reserve forces. These soldiers will be called up only in unique circumstances and usually upon explicit demand from their direct commander.
Exemption due to Severe Misconduct – Soldiers with significant disciplinary issues during regular service – usually those sentenced to lengthy imprisonments – may be exempted from reserve duty at the IDF's initiative.
Exemption for Bereaved Parents – Reserve personnel defined as bereaved parents are exempted from reserve duty^[2].

Individuals exempted from reserve duty are eligible to submit a volunteer service request, which will be evaluated by the Personnel Directorate according to the applicant's unique circumstances and the army's needs. For example, the request of football coach Barak Bachar to volunteer for reserve duty was approvedMogilevsky, Shay (March 27, 2017). "Barak Bachar will be recruited to the reserves: "I'm glad I have the opportunity to fix"". Ynet. after he received an exemption from military service due to severe misconduct during his regular service.

Volunteering for Reserve Duty

The reserve system also includes volunteers – individuals exempted from reserve duty, mainly due to reaching the exemption age, but volunteer to continue reserve duty. Another type of volunteering is by those obligated to reserve duty but volunteer to serve many more days than they are legally required to. The phenomenon of volunteering stood out during the Six-Day War, where volunteers were called "Nemarim" – reservists in ranks from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel, who volunteered to serve in the reserves for two to three months in the Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War to prevent the exhaustion of regular army soldiers stationed there and to impart their experience and maturity to the young fighters"Certificate of Appreciation: Nemarim". Gvura.org..

Volunteering also occurs during quieter times, when experienced officers volunteer for reserve duty, mainly for command and training tasks where their experience is highly beneficial. These volunteers include, among others, pilots in the ranks of lieutenant to lieutenant colonel who man the control rooms of the Air Force. Volunteers also include reservists in the intelligence corps, electronic warfare, and cyber warfare (Tweet). August 20, 2023 https://x.com/ – via Twitter. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); {{Cite tweet}}: Missing or empty |user=; Missing or empty |number= (help), as well as in other branches. This volunteer system was affected in 2023 when, as part of the protest against judicial reform, reserve volunteers announced the suspension of their volunteering. For example, two lieutenant colonels, combat directors at the Navy headquarters, announced the suspension of their volunteering for reserve dutyKoren Albaz-Alush (August 17, 2023). Ynet https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sy6ifosn3. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help). According to organizers of the protest against judicial reform, 10,000 reservists announced that they would not serve in the reserves.

The oldest reservist in the IDF is Ezra Yakhin. In May 2024, he was chosen to light a torch on the 76th Independence Day of IsraelHizki Baruch (May 6, 2024). Channel 7 https://www.inn.co.il/news/636712. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)Amir Bochbot (May 8, 2024). Walla https://news.walla.co.il/item/3662888. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help).

Payment for Reserve Duty

Reserve Allowances

The allowances given to reservists are divided into two types: allowances from the National Insurance Institute, which are intended to compensate for lost income, and additional allowances granted to those who have served a large number of reserve days, as a sign of appreciation for their contribution.

According to the National Insurance Law, the National Insurance Institute pays reserve allowances to reservists, as a substitute for the salary they do not receive during this period. For employees, reserve allowances are paid by their employer, at the regular salary payment date, and for self-employed individuals, they are paid directly by the National Insurance Institute, upon a claim they submit upon completion of reserve duty.

The compensation for reserve duty is transferred based on the proportional part of the reserve days in the reservist's monthly salary, according to the average of their salaries in the three months preceding the reserve duty. The rate per reserve day equals the monthly salary divided by 30, whereas the conventional rate per working day equals the monthly salary divided by 25 or 22. The reason for this is that in calculating reserve allowances, weekly rest days are also taken into account, which are part of the reserve period. In a reserve service period that is not a whole number of weeks, in order to prevent harm to the soldier's salary, the allowance is calculated by dividing the number of reserve days by seven. If there is no remainder, the payment will be made as usual, that is, by multiplying the number of service days by the daily rate; if the remainder is 6, the allowance will also be paid for an additional day; if the remainder is between 1 and 5, the remainder is multiplied by 1.4 (thus, for example, a soldier who served 4 days will receive an allowance for 4*1.4 days, which is 5.6 days).

However, reserve allowances are not intended to provide full financial compensation, mainly for the following reasons:

During the reserve period, the employer must preserve all the employee's rights, such as pension contributions and severance pay rights. The employer does not receive any compensation for this cost, and also does not receive compensation for the loss of the employee's productivity in his absence.
A reservist who experienced an increase in his salary in the three months prior to his service will find himself adversely affected, as the allowance amount is calculated based on the average of these salaries, unless his employer chooses to fund this difference. On the other hand, a reservist whose salary was lower in the quarter before his service will receive an allowance that exceeds the salary he would have received if he had not gone to serve.

A reservist who has not previously served in the reserves (e.g., a student), or whose salary is low, receives reserve allowances based on the minimum allowance, which is 68% of the "basic amount" defined in the National Insurance Law, updated annually according to the rise in the Consumer Price Index, and amounts to NIS 5,898 per month or NIS 196.61 per day (as of January 1, 2018). By virtue of the directive that was in force from October 7, 2023, until December 31, 2023 (the beginning of the Iron Sword War), the minimum allowance was increased to 95% of the basic amount.

Additional Allowance and Special Allowance

Reservists who have performed 10 or more days of service in a year are entitled to receive an "additional allowance" according to the number of days served in the past year, granted through the Israel Tax Authority, in amounts equivalent to tax credit points in the Income Tax Ordinance, and is given according to the duration of service. Since the grant is allocated by the treasury in a fixed amount, the amount of the grant to the soldier may vary depending on the total number of reserve service days performed in the IDF in the same year. The maximum amount for this grant is equivalent to 2 tax credit points, which is about NIS 5,808.

```markdown Reservists serving extensively are entitled to a "special allowance," amounting to 133 NIS for each reserve day from the 32nd to the 60th reserve day in each calendar year.

Standing Reserves

Reservists required to serve in extended reserve duty are sometimes offered to serve in "Standing Reserves" (Mitak), where instead of the allowances described above, the reservist receives payment identical to the payment he would have received if he had been drafted into regular service during that period.

Compensation for Reservists Affected

In 2002, the Knesset approved the Compensation for Reservists and their Families Law, which improves compensation for reservists who were killed or disabled due to their reserve duty.

Protection and Assistance for Reservists

Reserve duty disrupts the work and life order of reservists, so legal protection is required, as well as voluntary assistance to minimize the impact. Organizations such as the Forum for Reserve Soldiers and the Forum for Reserve Officers, NCOs, and Airmen promote the rights of reservists.

The Law for the Reintegration of Released Soldiers into Employment prohibits the dismissal of a reservist during his reserve duty and for thirty days thereafter, unless permission is granted by the Employment Committee appointed by the Minister of Defense. The committee grants such permission only if the employer proves that the requested dismissals are not due to reserve duty. The law stipulates that dismissals made due to reserve duty are void.

The Employment Equal Opportunities Law prohibits discrimination against the reservist regarding his acceptance for employment and his employment conditions.

Students serving in the reserves are entitled to special concessions from both the IDF and the academic institution where they study. Concessions include shortened service, consideration during exam periods, special exam dates ("J Dates"), and discounts on document photocopying services. Additionally, the Law for Encouraging Student Involvement in Social and Community Activities grants two academic credit points to a student studying for a bachelor's degree who served in the reserves for 14 days or more during a study year.

In July 2017, the Knesset approved a law allowing the spouse of a reservist, who works full-time and has a child under the age of 13, to shorten her working day by one hour during the period her spouse is actively serving in the reserves for at least five consecutive days.

Starting from January 2018, local authorities are authorized to grant property tax discounts to reservists.

In a report published by the "If You Will It" movement in 2019, it was stated that 91% of local authorities granted property tax discounts to their reservist residents. ``` During the Iron Reserves War, in which many workers were recruited for extended reserve duty, a Kibbutz Agreement was signed between the New Federation and the Presidency of the Business Sector, granting certain easements to reservists. The main provisions were:

An employee who served in the reserves for at least 60 days during the period from October 7, 2023, to December 31, 2024, shall not be dismissed even during the 30 days following the 30 days in which his dismissals are restricted by law, unless approved by a private committee according to this agreement.
The spouse of a reservist is entitled, under certain conditions, to an additional payment-free absence of up to eight days, according to the duration of the reserve service.

Reserves in Israeli Ethos and Popular Culture

Until the 1990s, a large portion of the country's residents served in reserve duty, and the reserve duty burden was relatively heavy (usually a month a year and sometimes even more). A rich folklore was woven around the Israeli reserve service. The reservist, the "Milooymanik," was described as a good-hearted soldier, somewhat lazy but with humor, athletic ability, and diligence, who volunteered for national service out of ideological motives. His appearance was rugged, including "half boots," rolled-up sleeves, and the absence of shoe laces. It is argued that the Milooymanik character is a manifestation of the transition from the image of the "Sabar" (representing external toughness and internal softness) or the fighter of the Palmach (representing moral integrity, knowing how to wield a weapon for self-defense).

In Cinema and Television

The most prominent film depicting the experience of reserve duty from a humorous angle is the film by Assi Dayan starring the trio of "The Pallid Spy" and Tobiah Tzafir, "Giv'at Halfon Doesn't Answer." The film depicts the comedic situations that arise from the encounter between the civilian world from which the reservists come and the rigid, disciplined, and sometimes ridiculed military world. Another comedy that humorously deals with the encounter between the tough military world of the 1970s and the civilian world in Israel of the same period is the television film "Hallelujah," which won the Israeli Academy Award for television dramas in 2004.

Another film depicting the experience of reservists is the film "Reserves" shot in the early 1990s.

In 1984, the Israeli television drama series "People in Reserve" was aired, depicting the events of a reserve unit.

In 2005, the television series "Reserves", created by Beni and Uri Barbash, depicting the life of a reserve unit called up for service in the territories, was produced.

Reserves in Israeli Humor

A prominent feature of Israeli songs dealing with reserve duty is the humorous tone woven into the description of this service. Among the notable reserve songs, which became classics in Israeli music as early as the 1960s, is the particularly famous humorous song by The High Windows band: "[Meeting in the Reserves]", better known by its popular nickname: "We Came to the Reserves".

"The Pallid Spy" trio presented many sketches dealing with reserve duty. Among them, the famous sketch is "The Conscripted Car", which describes the reserve service of reservists after the Six-Day War, serving in a military unit that confiscated cars drafted for the war. The sketch was even performed abroad in Yiddish and enjoyed great success. Other well-known sketches include "Butcher's Talk", depicting a meeting between two veteran reserve butchers reminiscing about the early days of the state with a regular soldier, and "Compost Bomb" in which a reservist seeks to be released from service in order to get married.

External Links

IDF Reserves Portal
Reserve Service Law, 5768-2008, on the Ministry of Justice website
Issue 395, May 2004 - Entire issue dedicated to reserve matters

Explanations

^ "All reasons for exemption from reserve duty". Tofsim Kav.
^ "All reasons for exemption from reserve duty". Tofsim Kav.

Footnotes

[1] "All reasons for exemption from reserve duty". Tofsim Kav.

[2] "All reasons for exemption from reserve duty". Tofsim Kav.

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