Gallant: 10,000 IDF Soldiers Needed Immediately

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed the charedi draft law during a session with the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

“I came here on a symbolic date, the first of July, the day the service is automatically shortened from 32 months to 30 months, instead of increasing from 32 months to 36 months as I stated in the draft law proposal about four months ago. Why did we propose this? Because we need soldiers.”

“I was in Rafah yesterday, and met many draft and reserve soldiers who are ready to do anything, but they expect solidarity from us. I think there is also a value issue here – in the reality we are in, where we have lost more than a brigade, it is impossible to exempt entire communities from service. It is in this spirit that I have been acting since the beginning of my term of office.”

“I acted both from below and from above, I sat with representatives of various parties, we tried to reach all kinds of arrangements and solutions, but we did not succeed in finding a solution for this issue either.”

“Look at the situation we are in – we need more soldiers. These soldiers should come from extending regular service, from reserves, and from the charedi population which should enlist at an increasing rate. In practice, the government did not make the decision regarding 36 months, as was laid down as a draft law by me in February if I am not mistaken. The Ministry of Finance led the opposition to 36 months for economic reasons, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General created difficulties, and when we asked to increase the exemption age by a year, we were allowed to do it for equality’s sake, but only for three months, and by the time you finished the legislation, that period was already over.”

“Here in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, we did not manage to reach an agreement on this either, and today we are releasing 6,700 people from the reserves. All vectors are moving in the opposite direction of what we need – unlike planes and bombs, soldiers cannot be brought from abroad.”

“I came here first of all to tell you, my friends, Knesset members – the Defense Ministry and the IDF are not someone else’s institution, they do not belong to any party, they are ours, all of us, we are all partners, from all demographics, from all places, and we need the soldiers. Now the soldiers are ready, but they want backup, they want unity, they want support, and I see it everywhere I meet soldiers, so I am putting this issue on the table.”

{Matzav.com Israel}