691 shekels per month of service: the reality on the eve of elections - a shirker before a fighter | Avi Ashkenazi
The article reveals the low priority given to IDF combat soldiers in the state budget, against the backdrop of a struggle over the procurement of 12 Apache helicopters that was halted by the Attorney General on the eve of the elections. The soldiers receive 691 shekels per month of service and a release grant of 22,000 shekels after 26 months of combat, while politicians focus on other budgetary battles.
Avi Ashkenazi's article in Ma'ariv presents a grim picture of Israel's priorities on the eve of the elections. At the center of the report is the struggle over the procurement of 12 Apache attack helicopters, a deal that was approved in principle by a ministerial committee in April but was halted at the last moment. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and his office staff approached Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, arguing that a new procurement deal could not be approved two weeks before the elections. The Attorney General accepted this position and stopped the procurement. The author calls this an "alibi for the next October 7," claiming that in the future they will be able to blame the Attorney General for preventing essential equipment. Meanwhile, the article reveals the meager compensation for combat soldiers: 2,600 shekels per month in the first two years, 3,200 in the third year, and a release grant of only 22,000 shekels after 26 months of combat. The author notes that no candidate for prime minister and no party has raised the issue of compensation for combat soldiers in the election campaign.