IDF reservist prepares in Pillar of Defense
IDF reservist prepares in Pillar of DefenseIsrael news photo: IDF Spokesperson's Office

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has instructed the IDF to add 60 million shekels to the amount earmarked for paying reservists' bonuses for 2012. The IDF's plan to cut the bonuses has therefore been scrapped, largely thanks to the fuss raised by Minister of Economics and Trade, Naftali Bennett.

"I congratulate Minister Yaalon for doing the right thing," Bennett wrote on his Facebook page. "We have proved that when we fight for something right, we win."  

During a tour of the Bina pre-military academy, Bennett explained that "The state pours money on fuel and on buying things at Ricochet [a store that specializes in soldiers' items – ed.] in the course of the wars, and the reservists are not the ones who are supposed to pay for this waste.

"The reservists should top the state's agenda. They leave their families and their children in order to protect us. I know that despite everything, with or without a bonus, they will keep on coming to serve on reserve duty, but we will not let the bonus they deserve be cut."