A new survey has found that more than half of the Israeli soldiers already serving in military are no longer willing to do their job.
According to a new survey conducted by the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, there has been an “alarming” decline in the willingness of Israeli soldiers to stay in the military. “In response to the question: “would you like to continue serving in the IDF?”, only 42 percent answered yes, compared to 49 percent who answered positively to the same question last year,” the survey said.
Israeli news agencies reported this Monday that this sharp decline in willingness to serve among Israeli soldiers, which occurred after almost eight months of war in Gaza, has surprised the top military officials in the Israeli military.
The survey also confirmed that the Israeli military is tired of the war and worried about its effects on their family life of its soldiers. Both men and women in the Israeli military are now increasingly complaining that because of the long and stressful hours they face in their job, they often don’t get to see their families as often as before the war.
The survey also found that when the Israeli military forces were asked if they were satisfied with their salaries or not? only 30 percent of them responded positively. This is what most participants in the survey also complained about.
According to the survey, the main reason for this reluctance to continue serving in the Israeli military is the “feeling of failure” in the Gaza war. In early May, Haaretz reported a worrying increase in the desire of Israeli soldiers to commit suicide among various ranks of the Israeli army and announced that between October 7 to May 30, ten Israeli soldiers have taken their own lives due to the mental pressures of the war in Gaza.
Israel’s economy can’t spend more on military!
At the same time as Israeli soldiers are frustrated with their low payments in the IDF, economic officials in Tel Aviv warn that the everyday-growing costs of the war in Gaza is crashing Israel’s economy and things will get worse if the military spending doesn’t change course.
Amir Yaron, head of the Central Bank of Israel, said during an economic conference in Tel Aviv this Monday that Israel’s 2025 budget will be in the hole as Gaza war costs are expected to reach $70bn.
“The costs of the war will reach 250 billion shekels, which is more than 68 billion dollars, by 2025. There is no doubt that more spending will be needed, because the economy needs security and security needs a strong economy. However, it is important to establish a proper balance between maintaining the economy and maintaining security,” Yaron said, adding also that “Israel’s defense costs are a heavy burden and the excessive devaluation of our national currency will continue, which will lead to a further increase in prices.”
The head of the Central Bank of Israel also pointed to the period of economic decline after the Arab war of 1973 and warned that if Israel does not reduce its defense costs as soon as possible, history may repeat itself and Israel could return to another lost decade.
“If we don’t reduce military costs, years of effort are needed to balance between the costs of defense and development again,” he explained.
To make matters even worse, the central bank governor’s comments came a few days after Israel’s National Security Council chief Tzachi Hangbi said on Sunday that the conflict in the Gaza Strip is expected to continue for at least seven more months.
“We are expecting another seven months of fighting to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group,” Hangbi noted in an interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster this past Wednesday.
