"Falling between the cracks, without rights and benefits": The IDF's trick that prevents reservists from receiving benefits
Wives of reservists from Battalion 363 sent a letter to the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, claiming their husbands are losing benefits due to the distribution of reserve duty orders over two years. The benefits, including reimbursements for mental health treatments and vacation vouchers, are conditional on a threshold of reserve days that is not met due to the bureaucratic split.
The wives of reservist fighters from Battalion 363 of the Armored Brigade sent a letter to the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, Major General Dado Bar Kalifa, and to the Chief Reserve Officer, Brigadier General Benny Ben Ari, claiming their husbands are not receiving benefits and entitlements due to bureaucracy. According to them, the current reserve duty order, which includes 99 days of service, is split over two different years (2026 and 2027), so that reserve days are counted separately each year. As a result, families that do not meet the threshold of 45-50 or 60 reserve days in a single year lose eligibility for reimbursements for mental health treatments, maternity leave grants, student grants, and vacation vouchers. The letter states, "It cannot be that families who continue to bear the burden time and again are harmed because of bureaucracy and dates over which they have no control." The women demand immediate intervention by senior officers in the battalion, brigade, and Personnel Directorate. No response has yet been received from the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.