Security & Diplomacy
Paying reservists
Reservists should be paid their full civilian salary, however much they earn.
Some reservists have served hundreds of days since October 7. The law tops up lower incomes to about NIS 9,800 a month.
What is at stake
The reserve burden of 2025 and 2026 has been the heaviest since 1973. A law now guarantees a partial monthly top-up for lower earners, up to about NIS 9,800 a month. The open question is whether that becomes full income parity for everyone called up, at any salary.
The case for
- Reservists carry an unpredictable burden on top of a job or a business. Serving should not cost them income.
- The state calls people up at short notice. Paying them less than they earn is a tax on serving.
- Reserve duty falls on a shrinking minority who serve again and again. Without full pay, fewer of them answer.
The case against
- Full parity paid to very high earners costs the most and sends public money where it is least needed.
- A business owner's losses are hard to verify. A parity system is hard to administer and easy to abuse.
- A generous means-tested top-up puts the money where families are genuinely struggling, and leaves budget for equipment and rehabilitation.
Both sides get the same number of points at comparable length. That is a rule of this site, not a coincidence.
What the next Knesset could decide
The next Knesset and Finance Ministry will decide whether to expand the current law toward full parity, or keep it as a capped, means-tested supplement.