The IDF as the Foundation of National Resilienc

By Mr. Lior Akerman​​ | September, 2023

Countless words have been spoken and written in recent months in an attempt to analyze the political, social, civil, and security state of affairs that has emerged in Israel since the new government was formed, and in view of the governmental coup it has been spearheading this past year.

However, it all seems to be honed and distilled by a single major event that has been driving the discourse in recent months, namely reservists discontinuing their service in the IDF and the extent of said phenomenon on the latter’s competence, operational readiness, and ability to defend Israel. This development is of particular importance since the IDF has an impact not only on Israel’s defense from a security perspective, but in terms of its overall civil and social cohesion. As the People’s Army, the IDF has always been a melting pot for most Israeli populations. It represents every citizen’s contribution to the state’s security, while always being above any political debate or disagreement, thus enjoying the highest levels of trust.

But something very bad has been happening in recent months. It is in plain view, and has culminated in full force when IDF Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi – whose professionalism and statesmanship goes uncontested – presented the highlights of the IDF’s activities in upcoming years.

The first item appearing in the new multiannual plan, due to be implemented in several months’ time, is human resources, followed by Iran and multiplicity of fronts, which is only second to it. Items 3 and 4 are the aspects to be addressed next: Maneuvering capabilities and border defense, as well as organizational operational culture improvement.

This emerging Israeli reality poses an internally evolving threat to the IDF. It gnaws at it from within, weakening it, and tearing down the trust upon which it was founded as the People’s Army from every angle: Between parts of the nation and the IDF; between those serving in key positions such as reserve pilots and operations officers, and the senior military echelon and government; between military service applicants and their parents, and the military system and new regime forming before their very eyes; and even between the Israeli air force (“blues”) and ground forces (“greens”).

Importantly, the IDF wound up in the eye of the judicial overhaul and governmental coup storm at a time when a shortage of human resources was already weakening many of its units. A large number of standing army officers in both combat and technological units had left the IDF due to the salaries it offered while the cost of living was becoming unbearably expensive. Reserve brigades have seen double-digit drops in reservist rates due to unusually frequent calls to report to operational duty in the West Bank following the security escalation and seam zone abandonment. Moreover, reservists are feeling used in view of the intention to pass new mobilization laws exempting the ultra-Orthodox. Motivation to serve in combat units is declining among teens, who prefer to serve in intelligence units such as 8200 or cyber, and the number of exemptions from service is on the rise.

These issues have now been joined by the outcomes and implications of the governmental coup, among them hundreds of pilots and high-ranking officers’ refusal to report to reserve duty.

The significant detriment is not only felt when active operational force is put to the test, and in the difficulties encountered in its operation in the absence of combat soldiers, commanders, and pilots. It is also felt in the war that the IDF is fighting to preserve the value of statehood that seems to have been lost among Israel’s leadership, as well as the nation’s unity, the consensus over the meaning of the military service and its valuableness, as well as information transparency and credibility vis-à-vis the Israeli public.

The IAF commander and Chief of General Staff grapple with the repercussions of the governmental coup and internal detriment caused to IDF statehood every single day. The heads of the IDF realize that they must find ways of accessing and directly reaching out to citizens and teens applying for military service to explain the importance of serving in the IDF as well as the current state of affairs by holding meetings in schools, offering pre-service preparation programs, and delivering messages in the media in various ways.

The political leadership prefers to completely disregard the implications of the harm caused to the IDF, and most government ministers refuse to accept the opinion voiced by senior military officers alerting to the grave crisis. Government ministers are attacking the head of the Israel Security Agency (ISA), Israeli Air Force (IAF) commander and other high-ranking officials in the defense establishment directly, whereas Prime Minister Netanyahu has chosen to convene an urgent meeting, only to fail to express his support for IDF commanders, or stop the legislation and detriment caused to IDF capabilities, or commend the IDF and ISA while reprimanding his ministers’ aggression, and instead choosing to scold the commanders, while threatening to use lie-detector tests to stop allegedly biased information from leaking out of meetings held by IDF commanders.

As mentioned, the IDF’s strength is not only expressed in its military capabilities and level of operation preparedness for war. It also manifests itself in its status as the People’s Army in the Israeli democracy, as well as a social and civil melting pot uniting Israeli citizens. The IDF has crucial and strategic standing in the preservation and improvement of both national civil resilience and state national security, and when the government takes steps that jeopardize all of the above, the IDF’s ability to ensure the country’s safety and that of its citizens is impeded, and detriment caused to Israelis’ social cohesion and civil national resilience.

The course of action taken by the government vis-à-vis the IDF finds expression in its ministers’ conduct vis-à-vis the ISA and Israel Police too. If the existential threat to Israel formerly seemed to be posed by the enemy states bordering it, these days it seems internal disputes are a risk to its survival. From Israel’s leaders through the domestic rift and weakening defense agencies, to the legitimacy they receive from various parties to the government as well as groups supportive of these extreme and dangerous views.

As a side comment, but certainly not unimportantly, the multiannual foreign military funds that Israel and the IDF have been receiving from the United States for many years should also be noted. This tremendous source of support is also at risk due to the steps being taken by the government, and Israel’s relations with the United States growing weaker. Some senior U.S. administration officials are already starting to say that the amounts of FMF given to Israel should be recalculated.

The government and its leadership must regain their composure quickly, stop the legislation blitz, and reinstate the necessary balance between citizens and within the IDF to end the phenomena undermining the defense establishment as well as Israel’s strategic state and security status.

Authored by Mr. Lior Akerman, a senior researcher at the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS), Reichman University.

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