Head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, said in an official IDF podcast that the military needs a significant increase in fighters and support personnel, and is therefore requesting to extend mandatory service back to 36 months. Tayeb argued that longer service enables professionalization, allows the creation of new units that reduce reserve duty, and is paired with a compensation mechanism for soldiers whose release is delayed.
In an official IDF podcast, the Head of the IDF Personnel Directorate (Achah), Brigadier General Shay Tayeb, laid out the military's formal request to extend mandatory service back to 36 months, reversing the 2015 reduction to 32 months (for men) and 30 months later reduced to 24 for women. Tayeb stated that the IDF faces a 'very significant' shortfall in fighters and support personnel across technological, maintenance, and driving roles, and that the current service length will deepen the gap as soldiers who enlisted later have served shorter periods.
The extension, Tayeb explained, has two primary goals: enabling greater professionalization and operational effectiveness through longer service, and freeing up personnel to establish new units that would replace reserve forces, thereby reducing reserve duty for all. The proposed law, drafted with the Finance Ministry and other government ministries, includes a compensation mechanism — the closer the extension notice is to the soldier's original release date, the larger the compensation, paid as additional salary or subsistence allowance.
Tayeb also addressed integration of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) soldiers, stating that the IDF has made unprecedented efforts over the past three years to facilitate their service. The proposal, if passed, would represent the most significant change to IDF service length in over a decade and comes as the military faces prolonged operational demands on multiple fronts. As The Zioneer reported last week, the IDF had been considering reductions to the pre-draft service year "mechina" alongside this extension.
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- Internal intake