Israel to start calling up reservists twice as often

The Israeli Ministerial Committee for Legislation has approved an amendment letting the Israel military call up reservists six times a year, not three, drawing the wrath of reservist groups.

The bill released on Sunday says the limitation on call-ups for annual reserve duty does not suit the needs of the army and does not allow the army to satisfy the needs of its training cycles and other capabilities.

The amendment now goes to the Knesset for a first reading.

Reservists' say the move would only add to the burden on reservists and their families. Sharing the burden normally refers to encouraging ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to serve in the military.

Another change deals with deploying reservists during actual military operations. Under the current legislation, a reservist will not take part in such a deployment more than once every three years.

According to the amendment, the 'defense' minister may, "if he is persuaded that the security needs justify such an action," call up reservists more than once for such deployments.

This would need the approval of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and 'Defense' Committee.