In the past few months, some citizens of the Jewish state have declared that they will refuse to show up to reserve duty in protest of the current governing coalition. Some informed observers have warned that these refusals raise serious doubts about the IDF’s readiness; others warn against exaggerating the problem; and others still—including Prime Minister Netanyahu himself—have expressed their fears of a situation where the military dictates policy to the civilian government. Eran Lerman argues that refusals to serve have “not yet” created a serious danger to Israeli security, but they might in the future. Moreover, he writes, the current controversies reflect deeper, longer-term issues:
[T]he cherished vision of the IDF “as it once was” has been showing signs of wear and tear for some time, well before the judicial-reform issues brought the tensions into sharper focus. Now the fissures are increasingly visible. As the nature of the threat [to the safety of the Jewish state] changed, . . . so did the level of dependence upon the reserves. It has been more than 40 years since IDF armored formations met enemy tanks in battle, fighting the Syrians on Lebanese soil in 1982. Fighting terror groups and “hybrid” guerilla forces such as Hizballah and Hamas do not require the massed formations and sheer numbers that fighting Arab armies did, and much can be done based on the regular servicemen’s brigades.
The number of Israelis who continued to be called up, or volunteered to keep on coming, dropped dramatically over the last few decades—in fact, fewer than 5 percent are now actually called up. Nevertheless, some elements of the reserves remain crucial in a future all-out conflict. Specifically, the air force continues to rely on old hands reporting for duty, flying missions, training (and inspiring) the younger generation, planning missions, and manning operation rooms. There are segments in which their contribution is almost irreplaceable.
Finally, the protestors are responding to more than the government’s judicial-reform bills; there is the open wound of inequality in service. The exemption for Arab citizens is understood, given their ethnic bonds with the neighbors. But the mass exemption for the growing ḥaredi population is part of what motivates these protests.
Read more on Jerusalem Strategic Tribune: https://jstribune.com/lerman-is-israels-military-fraying/