The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have not tapped into tens of thousands of soldiers who were dropped from the official reserve registry despite being capable of serving.
Such a move could significantly ease the heavy burden on reserve units currently struggling under immense strain. Yesh Atid MKs faulted the government for this inaction a month ago in two hearings held by the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Following the revelation, the committee requested that the IDF update it on actions being taken to use the retired reservists. However, as of Sunday, no such update had been provided.
During hearings on the IDF's request to postpone the discharge of soon-to-age-out reservists by a year, it emerged that the military is making no effort to recall the many soldiers discharged in recent years - even during wartime. IDF representatives admitted an unknown but likely tens of thousands of potential reservists are not being called back.
The head of the IDF Personnel Directorate's Planning Division Shay Taib stated the IDF does not "immediately pour in all available manpower" but rather calls up personnel "according to the army's needs and plans." He explained a technical glitch means the army does not know the discharge reasons for those tens of thousands over the past decade.
Taib said some 50,000 volunteers seeking to return were accepted during the war, and new units were formed to address manpower shortages from injuries and other causes. However, most committee members, especially from the Opposition, were unconvinced, arguing the army is taking the easy route of over-burdening those already serving instead of "working harder" to recall discharged but fit personnel.
The harshest criticism came from MK Elazar Stern of Yesh Atid, a former IDF Personnel Directorate chief, who told the army rep: "The time to maintain [reserve] pools is now...Work harder, go to all those people. When else would you keep them if not for now?"
Committee chairman MK Yuli Edelstein of Likud also demanded proactive efforts to call up those previously taken out of the registry rather than waiting for volunteers, specifically mentioning new immigrants and older ultra-Orthodox suited for "Stage B" training. "Send them call-up notices...if you send 1,000 and 600 show up, that's something," he said.
MK Idan Roll of Yesh Atid was "stunned," calling Taib's remarks an "ultimate failure admission...a major event. The discharge reason is the difference between who can be re-drafted and who can't. It's complete fog over an entire decade's reservists no longer serving. This is the most critical information for the [upcoming] draft law legislation."
In response to an Israel Hayom query, the IDF Spokesperson said the following in a statement: "As part of building up personnel during the war, tens of thousands of reservists not previously called up were activated, and new reserve frameworks like battalions and civilian guard roles were established. Since the war began, the IDF has been working to exhaust all potential reserve manpower, including initiating return processes for discharged soldiers suited to the needs in an orderly manner."
