Chief of General Staff to Haredi fighters: "We must expand the circle of those serving"

News in brief: The Chief of General Staff held a discussion with the fighters of the Hashmonaim Brigade and emphasized the need to integrate Haredim into the IDF. "We must expand the circle of those serving to balance the scope of service and ease the burden on them," clarified Eyal Zamir. His statement comes against the backdrop of a severe shortage of manpower in the IDF in light of the war on many fronts. Zamir clarified that alongside the urgent need, the army's goal is to allow Haredim to serve in the IDF while maintaining their lifestyle.

Chief of General Staff, Rav-Aluf Eyal Zamir, held a discussion today (Wednesday) with the fighters of the Yonatan Battalion in the Hashmonaim Brigade and emphasized the need to integrate Haredim into the IDF - against the backdrop of the manpower shortage. "Your integration into the IDF is essential for the security of the State of Israel and the entire people of Israel," emphasized Zamir. "One of the lessons we learned from October 7 is that the IDF must grow, intensify, and strengthen. We must increase our ground combat force and build more battalions and brigades that know how to fight, defeat the enemy, and protect the State of Israel."

"We must expand the circle of those serving to balance the scope of service and ease the burden on them - this is a goal we can achieve if we expand the scope of regular service members," explained Zamir.

The Chief of General Staff clarified that alongside the urgent need, the army's goal is to allow Haredim to serve in the IDF while maintaining their lifestyle: "I and the commanders are committed to this and are investing a lot of thought into it."

Zamir described that there is an increase in the recruitment of Haredim into the IDF, both in the combat array and in the combat support array - but emphasized that more is required. "We need to continue to replicate the Yonatan Battalion and turn the Hashmonaim Brigade into a full combat brigade. We will continue to move forward for one common goal. I am proud of you and rely on you," he said.

He continued and detailed the importance of maintaining a religious lifestyle in the IDF even during service: "It is important to me that you maintain your faith and lifestyle alongside fulfilling the commandment of defending the country, and it is important to me that we also fulfill every commitment we have to you. I am aware of the difficulties, but this is a national, Jewish, and historical mission. This is a great commandment."

Zamir praised the brigade's work and expressed his confidence in it: "One of the frameworks we established with the goal of strengthening the IDF is the Hashmonaim Brigade, and I have no doubt that it will be one of the leading brigades in the IDF." According to him, this brigade is breaking new ground. "Everywhere I meet commanders and ask about the Yonatan Battalion, I hear praise and a desire to keep you in the sector. This battalion is like Nachshon ben Aminadav who jumped into the water first and paved the way for the entire nation - and that is how you will be remembered in the history book of our people. As the first to break the path - you are enabling through your actions the expansion of the recruitment of Haredim."

Just at the beginning of the month, the IDF warned against the backdrop of the severe shortage of soldiers that those discharged would immediately receive a "Tzav 8" (reserve call-up order), which would effectively lead to an extension of regular service by two months. The exceptional move is intended to allow the IDF to cope with its many tasks. The economic aspect: the high costs of each reserve soldier will cost the state a lot of money, three times as much for each soldier.

This coming January, the regular service will be shortened to 30 months, which creates a huge shortage of manpower for the IDF, and which will affect all activity and the entire personnel roster of the army. The meaning of the "Tzav 8" orders is the erosion of reserve personnel, and there are those in the army who already claim that it is immoral.

A senior IDF official told Channel 12 News: "It is not sane and not logical in a democratic state to bring reserve soldiers for another hundred days of reserve duty already in the third year, also this year."