Everyone in Israel should enlist in the IDF or perform national service, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi said Thursday at a ceremony to honor outstanding officers and NCOs.
"For the sake of governability, it would be right for every citizen of the country to serve in the IDF or at least perform alternate national service.
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"It is unacceptable that IDF soldiers carry the burden while many others are free from any obligation. It is unacceptable that IDF soldiers put their lives at risk while others invest in their lives," Kochavi said.
Kochavi's statement aligns with the position of Defense Minister and former IDF chief Benny Gantz, who intends to promote legislation making national service mandatory for all.
At a briefing for military correspondents two months ago, Gantz said that only 50% of Israeli citizens served in the IDF, and called that situation "unacceptable, impossible."
Gantz stressed that Israel needed to develop alternative models of national service in order to "increase those who participate in serving the people and the country."
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