Zamir orders significant reduction in reserve call-up orders

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Sunday ordered a significant reduction in the number of reserve call-ups, following growing criticism among a large number of reservists who were called up for home front duty and failed to report to their units.

The Israeli army called up hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers at the start of the war. Later, the need to call up reserves diminished, but the army continued to issue call-up orders for reservists, who received compensation for their reserve service while continuing to work at their workplaces, according to the Walla website.

Walla added that criticism has recently been escalating inside and outside the army regarding the "unbearable ease" of issuing call-up orders for reserve soldiers to carry out missions on the home front "unnecessarily."

Subsequently, Zamir decided to reduce the number of such call-up orders and demanded oversight of them across all army units. At the same time, the head of the Manpower Division, David Bar-Kalifa, ordered a reduction in the recruitment of reserve forces, requiring such recruitment to be carried out in accordance with developments on the front lines. He also ordered an expansion of oversight within units, requiring reserve soldiers to fill out a daily form detailing their whereabouts and whether they were at home or at a military base.

Israeli military sources indicated that Zamir and Bar Kalifa's decision will lead to significant spending cuts. The sources said that "these decisions come in the wake of negative trends and a lack of oversight over the number of reserve soldiers needed by various units," according to Walla.