The unsustainable draft-dodging burden on the IDF

One to two percent. That’s the number of people in Israel who serve in the reserves – just around 150,000. These are the men and women who keep the country safe, dropping everything when war is thrust upon Israel.

Now imagine for a moment that, on October 7, these individuals weren’t available – that they had decided not to show up. Could Israel have launched its ground offensive in Gaza? Could it be operating, as it is right now, – inside southern Lebanon? Would there be enough troops to try and counter Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank?

Let’s consider something else. On Sunday, four soldiers were killed and another 70 wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack at the Golani training base in the North. That’s almost the size of a full company, typically one of three or four in a battalion.

In other words, the IDF will now be short nearly a third of a battalion for the foreseeable future.

This is just the latest attack. Since last October, over 730 soldiers have been killed, with another 11,000 wounded.

Unprecedented numbers for an army short on soldiers

These are numbers the IDF has never faced before, and it’s no secret anymore: the IDF is short on soldiers. That’s why some of the reservists from that 1-2% are now serving their fourth or fifth tour of duty.

The situation is unprecedented. But more importantly, it’s unsustainable.

How much longer do we expect these 150,000 men and women to carry the nation’s burden on their own?

How long before the 18-year-old who enlisted in the IDF begins to question why they should serve, knowing that tens of thousands of others just like them aren’t stepping up? Do we really believe this can continue?

Apparently, the current coalition does. Otherwise, how do you explain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent decision to push forward a law, once the Knesset reconvenes in 10 days, that will institutionalize haredi draft dodging?

How else can we explain the chutzpah of the haredim in demanding such a law, believing it’s acceptable to sit on the sidelines while men and women are being killed and injured almost daily?

Where do they get this gall? What gives them the sense that they can enjoy the benefits of the state while not playing an active role in its defense?

Take, for example, the fact that right now, the yeshivas where they supposedly study instead of serving in the IDF are on their bein hazmanim break for Sukkot.

Are the Golani soldiers who were attacked in the North on break? Are the Egoz soldiers, whose friends were killed in southern Lebanon, on break? Or are they back in Lebanon fighting?

If that weren’t infuriating enough, just listen to Shas leader Arye Deri’s interview this week with one of his party’s tabloids: “I hope that soon, in the coming weeks, we will sort out the issue and ensure that yeshiva students can sit and learn without all these problems from draft orders,” Deri said.

“Problems from draft orders” – that’s what Deri called it.

He should read the letter from Hagay Lober, a rabbi whose son Yehonatan, a reservist, was killed in Gaza in December, leaving behind a 10-month-old son and Aviya, his pregnant widow.

“Let me tell you what ‘draft problems’ are: My sweet son, Yehonatan, fell in Gaza 10 months ago. My wonderful son, Itamar, is currently in Gaza. My devoted son, Elad, will enter Gaza in a month, and my son-in-law, who is like a son to me, is currently serving near Nablus. For my other sons, the draft orders are on the way.

“We definitely have ‘draft problems.’ Heartbroken, we tremble like leaves in the wind, fearing yet another knock on the door. The nightmare of becoming bereaved again hovers like a black cloud over our lives, leaving us sleepless at night.

“Don’t tell me my sons don’t need to serve.Don’t you understand? We’re running out of people.”

Lober continues in his heartbreaking letter, calling on Deri to change his ways and realize that the black hats and white shirts he and his followers wear are a desecration of God’s name when compared to the helmet, rifle, and uniform of an IDF soldier.

“You know that we will never stop, that we will continue being like Yehonatan, who viewed his draft order as a command from God and not as a problem,” Lober wrote.

I want to believe Lober’s letter might influence Deri. But I know it won’t.

Like the rest of the coalition, Deri is concerned with political survival – securing votes and ensuring that his base continues to avoid the draft as promised.

It's time to say “enough.” It’s time for the government to stop in its tracks. Netanyahu knows that what he’s doing is wrong. So does the rest of the Likud Party. But they’re unwilling to stand up for what’s right, for people like Hagay Lober and his sons.

The cold, hard truth is this: Netanyahu, Deri, Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism), and the rest of the haredim, and the coalition, simply don’t care.

They know there will always be people like Yehonatan Lober who will continue to enlist, continue to serve, and continue to die – so that tens of thousands of healthy young men in yeshivas can keep pretending that their studies are more important than defending the state.

Soldiers like Yehonatan Lober deserve a country where every citizen shares the burden of defense.

The time for excuses is over.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.