IDF Chief: Soldiers Are Israel's 'Most Important Resource' as Haredi Draft Bill Advances
JERUSALEM — Amid the Knesset's advancement of a contentious bill equating Torah study with military service, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir declared on Thursday that soldiers are the State of Israel's “most important resource” and should be first in the order of priorities.
Speaking at the General Staff situational assessment, Zamir marked 1,000 days since the outbreak of the war, which he described as “the longest war in our history” and one that began with “a grave failure and the worst tragedy in the history of the State of Israel.” He said the military rose from that tragedy and conducted a war that achieved “unprecedented accomplishments.”
Zamir noted that the country is currently in an “interim period across all theaters of operation,” with all arenas active at varying levels of intensity and interconnected in ways that any action in one may affect the others.
“The achievements of the multi-front war were made possible through the determination and sacrifice of the defenders of the nation,” he said. “The guardians of the nation’s metaphorical walls, driven by a sense of national responsibility, are first and foremost the combat soldiers on the front lines, supported by all the support units of the IDF.”
He emphasized that soldiers and commanders in mandatory, career, or reserve service are “the State of Israel’s most important resource,” and that it is fitting they be first to receive the nation’s appreciation through decisions and allocation of resources, including care for them, their families, and their future.
The Chief of Staff’s remarks came after the Knesset passed the Basic Law: Torah Study bill on Wednesday evening. The bill, proposed by the Knesset's haredi (ultra-Orthodox) faction, is set to enshrine Torah study into the nation's foundational laws. Critics argue it encourages draft evasion and enables yeshiva students who do not serve to continue receiving state benefits, even amid the IDF’s severe manpower crisis.
Separately, IDF Brig.-Gen. Shai Taib, head of the military's Planning and Personnel Administration Division, warned the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Thursday that Israel’s regular combat force could face severe strain without urgent manpower legislation. Taib said the IDF needs three measures: an effective draft law, an extension of mandatory service, and a reserve service law. He said the intensity of fighting was increasing and that the coming years were expected to place continued pressure on the military.
“Unfortunately, the combat gap is only intensifying, and this is what the coming years will look like,” Taib told the committee.
He said extending mandatory service would help the IDF build force capacity, address burnout, and create greater flexibility within the service framework. Taib added that the army had already established dozens of reserve battalions, planned to create two additional infantry battalions, and returned tens of thousands of former service members to duty.
During the Thursday Knesset hearing, defense and political officials criticized the IDF for presenting the extension of mandatory service as a technical measure, rather than as part of a broader change to Israel’s military model. Officials said the General Staff should develop a multi-year service model that reflects the security reality after October 7, arguing that combat and key combat-support roles should be assigned longer, predetermined service tracks to reduce dependence on political and legal decisions.
IDF officials warned that some combat units are facing critically severe shortages, and that failure to extend mandatory service would immediately reduce the IDF's combat force by about 10% to 15%.