Ben Anat. Serious problem
Photo: Ofer Amram
IDF: Only 25% do reserve service
Prime minister appoints team to look into ways to favor reserve soldiers in private sector, following data showing they are rejected by workplaces
Brigadier General Shuki Ben Anat, the Israel Defense Forces' chief reserve forces officer, participated in the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday and presented the ministers with troubling figures.
"There are in Israel about 400,000 potential soldiers for reserve service," he said, "but only 100,000 of them serve 10 days or more."
He stressed, however, that "not all of them are dodgers, as the army has its own selection process."
Ben Anat took part in the meeting in honor of the IDF's "Reserve Force Day". He told the ministers that many senior reserve officers interested in working in the private sector prefer not to include their military service details in their CVs, for fear that they would be rejected due to their reserve duty.
"Regiment commander fail to mention that they are regiment commanders, and company commanders fail to mention that they are company commanders. I know a company which nearly won the defense minister's award, but did not receive the award after we discovered that it had fired regiment and company commanders. There is a serious problem in this field."
Following these statements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai and Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office Eyal Gabay to submit recommendations on favoring reserve soldiers in the private sector within 60 days.
"We must favor those who bear the biggest burden in order to guarantee our security," he said.
