Occupied Jerusalem- The war on the Lebanon and Gaza fronts exacerbated the crisis of the Israeli army, due to the severe shortage of manpower and in the wake of the heavy losses it suffered among soldiers and officers in ground battles, which required the immediate recruitment of thousands of soldiers.
To avoid this impasse, the Minister of Defense was dismissed Yoav Galant He announced the recruitment of 7,000 people Haredi JewsThis threatened to break up the government coalition Benjamin Netanyahu Who quickly dismissed Gallant and replaced him with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz.
This action by Netanyahu reflected the military service crisis that has been worsening for decades in Israeli society, due to the exemption of Haredi Jews from conscription, which left residues in the Israeli army, which suffers from a severe shortage of forces in light of the intensification of ground battles on the two battle fronts.
needs and arrangements
At a time when the Netanyahu government seeks to circumvent the law that allowed tens of thousands of Haredi Jews annually to evade military service to ensure the government’s survival until October 2026, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed that the Israeli army is in urgent need of 7,000 soldiers.
In its report, the newspaper reviewed the recruitment crisis in Israeli society, dropouts from military service, exemption from conscription for medical and psychological reasons, and the abstention of Haredim from service, as the army claimed that it could have recruited 3,000 Haredim, but in the previous conscription year only 1,200 were recruited out of about 13,000. Candidate for service.
Yedioth Ahronoth reveals through the report that one out of every three men wanted for military service did not enter the conscription office at all, and that 15% of the soldiers dropped out during military service and did not serve in the reserve at all, while the number of those granted exemptions from conscription jumped for reasons Medical and psychological from 4 to 8% before service.
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In reading these data and data, readings and estimates by Israeli analysts and research centers addressed the challenges facing the Israeli army in the future, most notably the issue of Haredi recruitment, which is still a matter of controversy in the Israeli political arena, such that the annual exemption of tens of thousands of students from Jewish religious schools is still a matter of controversy in society. The Israeli government has everything related to not achieving social equality and not sharing burdens.
With the continuation of the war in Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli army’s convictions of the necessity of providing the minimum number of soldiers and manpower to secure the formations it needs in the future were strengthened, as it was revealed through the fighting that the army would be forced to increase ground forces, prepare for the possibility of a broader war breaking out on more than one front, and protect the borders to avoid Repeated surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
Therefore, the Israeli army, by consensus among analysts, must take into account the consequences Sudden attack Which you launched Hamas movementAnd making arrangements to meet operational needs, whether by expanding the recruitment circle, extending the duration of military service, increasing the use of women in combat units, comparing the duration of women’s service with men, and creating new recruitment paths.
Drawing lessons
In turn, Professor Eyal Ben Aryeh, a researcher at the Yerushalayim Institute for Strategy and Security, estimated that the multi-front war revealed the depth of the recruitment crisis in the Israeli army, and wondered whether the recruitment model met the needs of the military institution after the Gaza War.
In reviewing this question in light of the continuing war on the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, the Israeli researcher stressed the necessity of drawing lessons from the current war and recognizing the need to protect borders, invest in human resources in the army, and recruit more segments of society into military service.
Ben Ariyeh pointed out that the army will be required to continue preparing for a broader war, as Israel will need a much larger army to fight a multi-front war, which obligates the Israeli government to adapt the compulsory conscription model to the challenges facing the Israeli army in the Middle East.
It is believed that the considerations and standards for any future recruitment model for the Israeli army must take into account the operational needs of the army, especially during a multi-front war, and the social, political and economic restrictions imposed on military service and Haredi recruitment, and the necessity of overcoming these restrictions and responding to the needs of the army.
Weakness of the army
In a reading of the recruitment crisis that unfolded during the battles in Gaza Strip And the ground incursion into southern Lebanon. In an article in the newspaper “Israel Today,” sociology researcher Nadav Haetzni asked about the position of the Israeli army and Israeli society after more than a year of war, and what has changed since the date of October 7, and what still remains to be done. to change?
Haetzni refers to the book “The High-Tech Army and the Cavalry Army,” which describes the depth of the distortion that occurred in the Israeli army in the last generation, and how this distortion created two different armies, “one of which is brilliant and multi-achieved, and the other is neglected, which is the army of the wilderness.”
The Israeli writer adds, “We know the headlines about the conduct of ground battles, but the details are shocking and still very disturbing. What we call the ground army has receded and has become no longer important. The infantry divisions – including paratroopers andGolani BrigadeArmour, artillery, and engineering were all neglected, while the air force, intelligence, and special units were developed and turned into an army that is used almost exclusively.”
More than a year after the war, Haetzni says, “Without the ground forces, it is not possible to decide, and therefore it is necessary to expand the infantry divisions and invest in human capabilities. The ground army is the spearhead of fighting and defense, and preoccupation with the army, its needs, and the ability to protect Israel’s existence requires a fundamental change in Dealing with Haredi recruitment.”
Fill in the blank
The same proposition was adopted by the researcher at the Israeli Democracy Institute, Professor Amichai Cohen, who confirmed that the ground battles on the Lebanon and Gaza fronts demonstrated the extent of the Israeli army’s need for more field human capabilities, as well as for strengthening combat units in order to resolve the war.
Cohen believes that the shortage of ground forces and human capabilities in the army would have repercussions on the conduct and continuation of military operations, and could lead Israel into a long-term war of attrition, eroding the combat capabilities of various military divisions and units and exhausting soldiers and reserve forces.
He pointed out that the war demonstrated the need for equality between the various sectors of Israeli society in everything related to military service, saying that “the non-recruitment of the Haredim constitutes in itself a violation of the principle of equality, as sharing burdens and equal contributions create solidarity among all segments of society, which is necessary solidarity.” Israel’s ability to confront the challenges it faces.
Cohen adds that it became clear from the conduct of the ground battles that the Israeli army needs human forces, especially in combat units. “During the war, the army’s tasks were expanded, as hundreds of soldiers were killed and thousands wounded, which deepened the crisis of shortage in human forces, and there is an urgent need to fill The shortage, and without Haredi recruitment, it will be very difficult to resolve the war.”
