AFPR Reservists enlist in the army
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 06:22
Israel announced on Monday that it is calling up 300,000 reservists in the fight against Hamas. They are civilians, mostly young people, who have completed their military service in Israel. According to the armed forces, it is the largest mobilization in the country’s history. On the day that Hamas opened the attack from the Gaza Strip, Saturday, reservists were also called up.
Since that day, reservists have been in contact about the situation in app groups of their unit. In Israel, all Jewish citizens, men and women, enter the military at the age of 18, although there are some exceptions. Conscription lasts two to three years.
After that they basically remain reservists. Only those who regularly undergo ‘refresher training’ – a kind of refresher course – are considered “active reservists”. Officers must repeat themselves every year in order to continue to be deployed.
Can be deployed quickly
Reservists can be called up for exercises and regular duties in the army for up to 36 days a year, and even longer in appropriate cases. For example, air force pilots who are reservists are still regularly deployed for missions over Syria, for example, if Israel wants to eliminate Hezbollah positions or transports there.
The call for 300,000 additional reservists to report to their unit came in many places via WhatsApp groups. Every unit has one. These units are led by professional soldiers. This means that the units can be quickly deployed in many places.
Young parents say goodbye to their family for the time being:
The Israeli Defense Forces have 173,000 active soldiers and around 400,000 reservists.
Since yesterday, a large Israeli force has been stationed at the border with Gaza. It is not known whether and how soon there will be a ground offensive in Gaza. But if it comes, it won’t surprise anyone. Israel seeks revenge against Hamas. A major offensive can lead to many casualties.
Recent resistance from reservists
The divisions in the country caused by the legal reforms introduced by the Netanyahu government in July led to a number of reservists withdrawing support from the army. The reform law has reduced the power of the Supreme Court in favor of parliament.
In March, reservists joined the protest against the reforms. They threatened with conscription because they felt that the reforms damaged democracy in Israel. There appears to be no such resistance in the current situation.
Additional El Al devices
Israeli reservists abroad try to get a flight to Israel to serve their country. Reservists living abroad are not required to answer the call, but many do. El Al airline uses extra aircraft to pick up people from all over the world.
“I want to go in that direction,” says the Dutch Isjai, who served in Israel from 2019 to 2021. He has not yet received a call himself.
In the video below he explains why he wants to go to Israel.
Yishai is a reservist in the Israeli army and wants to return
2023-10-11 04:22:51
#Israel #reservists #quickly
