Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday that a special committee with representatives from the Defense Ministry, IDF, Finance Ministry and the National Insurance Institute has approved a budget of NIS 30 million ($7.77 million) to increase reimbursement payments to self-employed IDF reservists.
To date, business owners who serve in the reserves have been reimbursed according to their average monthly earnings. Now, the Defense Ministry said self-employed Israelis will receive an additional 25 percent above that average for time spent in military service.
“The Defense Ministry and the IDF are well-aware of the fact that reservists play a central, critical role in the IDF’s ability to protect the State of Israel,” said Lieberman. "So we are working on a variety of channels for the benefit of the entire reserve apparatus in general, and especially for individual reservists."
The move, which followed on a proposal by MK Ofer Shelah (Yesh Atid), is intended to offset financial losses accrued as a result of time spent in reserve duty.
The additional payment will be added automatically to reservists’ salaries, up to the maximum reimbursement set by law.