Gantz Says Military Draft Needs Reform for Israel's Safety
(Jerusalem Post) In a warning to Nasrallah, the defense minister said Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for any violence.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz has warned that if there is no reform to the draft, Israel might not be able to meet future threats.
“If no change is made, and we don’t develop a long-term vision, there is the danger of disbanding the People's Army, and [that will] impair our ability to meet security challenges,” he said Wednesday at the Annual Eitan Balachsan Memorial Leadership Conference.
Gantz has repeatedly called for a reform of the draft and to broaden national service, saying that without doing so, the country would be forced to end the draft and change the IDF from a “people’s army” into a volunteer, professional army.
“As Defense Minister, I say explicitly and honestly that we are facing a long-term crisis regarding service in the IDF.”
Gantz said that the military was facing a crisis that requires significant moves by leadership, who need to understand that what suited the IDF in Israel’s melting pot of the 1950s and 1960s “does not suit the needs of Israeli society today.”
“Unfortunately, when you look at the citizens in the State of Israel, only half of the 18-year-olds enlist," he said. "Compulsory service becomes semi-compulsory service. This situation must not be tolerated and must be changed.”
Story by ANNA AHRONHEIM for the Jerusalem Post
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