After 4 years in the Ministry of Defense: Smotrich's plan for reservists
After supporting laws on draft evasion and exemption from arrests, the Minister of Finance claims that a "condition for entering the next government" will be his plan for "reducing reserve duty days to only 30 per year by 2027" - which relies, among other things, on the conscription of Haredim. Smotrich: "I presented the plan to the army, they told me, 'We don't manage the Treasury for you'."
Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich published this evening (Thursday) a plan to ease the burden on reservists, with a goal of "reducing reserve duty days to only 30 per year." Smotrich, who in recent months has worked to promote laws that benefit those evading military service and served for four years as a minister in the Ministry of Defense, claimed that he had refrained from dealing with the issue until now due to opposition from the IDF.
According to Smotrich, the "Reservists Home" plan will reduce reserve duty days to 30 per year "as early as 2027": "The leading principle is 'more people - less time' - expanding the circle of those serving and distributing tasks among a larger number of soldiers instead of prolonged reliance on a permanent pool of servers. The plan also addresses the gap created between the expansion of tasks and sectors that the IDF is required to defend and the force structure available to it. According to the plan, the response must come from increasing the manpower base and better utilizing existing forces, rather than extending the service duration of the same reservists and regular soldiers."
It was further stated that the plan includes "the immediate return of about 50,000 soldiers who are not currently assigned to active reserve units, alongside the establishment of new reserve frameworks and increasing the combat readiness of soldiers, while distributing security tasks more balancedly." Smotrich apparently also commits to creating a "national plan for Haredi conscription," which will include, among other things, "preparation frameworks for service while expanding state Haredi education and establishing additional service tracks that will allow those serving to maintain their Haredi lifestyle."
Finally, Smotrich's plan will also include "legislating a Basic Law for those serving under the 'First for Equality' principle, whoever serves gets everything - we will anchor in a Basic Law the status of those serving and reservists in the IDF while giving priority to those serving and their spouses in housing, daycare, academic studies, student dormitories, and acceptance to the civil service."
As mentioned, the plan relies on "expanding the circle of those serving," among other things by conscripting Haredim, but until now Minister Smotrich has worked together with the coalition to exempt yeshiva students from service in the IDF, and also to prevent the arrest of those who refused to report for draft orders they received and were defined as deserters.
At the end of 2025, it was reported that the Ministries of Finance and Defense initiated a reduction of the reserve period to between 55 and 69 days per year, both with the goal of reducing costs and to ease the burden on the public. However, this did not materialize. Smotrich claimed at a home gathering held this week that he refrained from dealing with the issue of the burden on reservists due to opposition in the IDF:
"I came to the army, we presented it with a plan to streamline the reserve duty day graph, and the army told me, 'Don't manage the army for me, I don't manage the Treasury for you'."
Smotrich stated this evening: "Our mission is to bring the reservists home. We will change the equation: more people for less time, and not fewer people for more time. This plan will be a condition for us to enter the next government. In the last term, we proved that when we commit to the public and take on a certain issue, we create a revolution. In light of the longest war in Israel's history, the security reality has changed. There is more territory to defend, more tasks to perform, but less available force structure. It is impossible to solve this gap by calling up the same reservists again and again and leaving them hundreds of days away from home. We need to expand the circle of those serving, maximize the manpower already existing in the IDF, and distribute the burden among many more shoulders. This is how we will maintain Israel's security, and at the same time allow reservists to return to their families, to work, and to their lives."
