On one hand, the army has no money to pay for reservists. On the other, the politicians want to enlist Yeshiva students to their ranks. With what?

No one can receive a government pension while they are earning a salary from the government. No one can receive a pension greater than 30,000 NIS a month. Immediately, Israel's economic troubles are solved.

...are in a continual state of underbudgeting and tight circumstances. Steadfastly all across the nation large, medium and small departments of Public Safety maintain school safety officer programs as well as "Officer Bill" feel good but do litle programs ALL fully staffed and made mobile with funds better spent on Patrol staffing and after action reporting; staffing, training and equipage. Yet they refuse to remove the "Show programs and sociology lite" to needed areas. I believe that if the non important programs and staffing situations in the IDF were looked at the trimming of fat would shock those tasked with paying for such things. Waste, fraud and abuse are rampant in every organization and I am sure that Israel is no different. You just have to want to do it.

lapid who never served in combat, talks big, is a dunce just like his father who enabled olmert over fancy dinners and cigars. he figures theidf can get by without training. His idea of peace, is to underfund the idf, neglect training and make land concessions. What a loser , a weakling, just like livni who is becoming as obnoxious as olmert,t he twin cowards who broought death to israel. Why do you israelis continue to vote for these losers???!

Get rid of all the illegals staying in our country, and Israel will have more than 2 BILLION SHEKELS to give our Defense Forces for training.....these ILLEGALS cost us money in to many areas to list them all, but just the costs in POLICING, MEDICAL, HOLDING CAMPS, PAYING THEM TO LEAVE, SECURING OUR BORDERS to cite a few would provide ample savings that could be used in many areas......AM YISROEL CHAI

Father will pay for all your needs. Making aircraft in Israel is a good idea, if trade barters are lifted so that necessary restricted parts are easy to achieve or buy. Maybe the U.S. will be in a place to sell off spare parts to pay for the deal. In other words, Hashem has it all taken care of anyway:)

Make peace and you have no financing problems.

The Galus has hugely rich and indulgent show offs and Moderaly Severe Psychological Pressure ought be applied for Social Programmes .Also Virtual Training with Back Pay in a Year Guaranteed is tap Option.

The fact that the harideem contribute nothing to this state, milking it dry for every shekel they can get of the tax payers money. Naturally you and your ilk support such a life style. The fact is the money that is given to those parasites could be spent on the defense of our nation. Draft the lot of them , cut their benefits. Those who dont like it are free to leave, im sure we can arrange a free bus pass to the airport.

I agree with your question, where did all the money go. Too many subnarines etc. Did Bibi spend it all on excess equipment for a war with Iran.This "the money has gone " is nonsense, it went somewhere. "Somebody " should check out all govt spending, but the trouble is that its not transparent on purpose so that its always a paper chase. When will we finally grow up and learn to manage things in an orderly and honest way ?

So stop spending billions on the terrorist rabble in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria. Cut off their electricity. Cut off their fresh water. Cut off all "humanitarian" aid. Let them fend for themselves. Or let their brother Arabs -- the oil-soaked ones -- look after them. Perhaps they will express their gratitude by firing missiles into Saudi Arabia. Or Kuwait. Stop spending so much money on people who wish nothing more than to bring about the destruction of the State of Israel. Then there will be more than enough funds to spend on our national security.

except cut down on their privileges and their massive waste. All Gantz needs to do is trim down the top echelon's lavish expenditure and use some constructive brainpower to trim down waste. But, as usual in Israeli politics, it's all mouthpower and no action. Gantz is doing nothing but bringing down army morale. If anybody should go, it should start with him.

Are you advocating stopping benefits to Israeli Arabs who contribute nothing to the state. BTW, the harideem contribute nothing besides Ezer MiZion, Yad Sara, public soup kitchens that feed thousands, etc. And their benefits have already been slashed last year, so why is there still not enough money? You seem to be advocating drafting yeshiva students as a form of punishment. This will only hamper the army's smooth functioning as it will have to struggle to deal with thousands of uncooperative recruits. As eveyone knows, no one, not even the IDF can "force" a person to be a soldier, much less a good soldier. And are the Arabs who "do not contribute" also "parasites" or is that National Socialist epithet reserved only for Jews? I think you are the one who doesn't get it.

Have you ever tried to read the PLO and HAMAS political Charters ? There is no place for peace in those documents; instead, they are talking about total destruction of Israel. You can't make peace with those who are devoted to your extermination. The Jews have learnt the WW2 tragic lesson very well.

Is this budget crisis with respect to the military real, or is it a red herring designed to give our unpleasant neighbors reason to take action that they will regret? Have to ask. We don't usually debate military budgets publicly. That, and my brothers-in-law still get called to miluim quite regularly. Just wondering.

Start charging for demolitions and other extra expenses from settlements, Arabs, and other groups that cost the military expenses related to activities that were deemed illegal by the courts. Each demolition that costs manpower or equipment should be charged to the group that is being displaced. It should be part of the court order and go to cover expenses.

Ganz and his friends bought an In-flight refueling tanker....why? Ganz and his cronies and those before him, have already spent the grant they think they will receive from the USofA up to and including 2015.....how? A little prudence would have been wise, but no, the IDF has to have, and has to have NOW