The Tzav Ehad ("One Command") association which has called on soldiers to report to it any problems with Jewish religious life in the IDF has received numerous complaints from soldiers that in their rooms there is no mezuzah or that the mezuzah was invalid or faded.
The association published on its Facebook page a post calling on soldiers to photograph the mezuzah and to inform which base they are talking about. Tzav Ehad estimate that 50% of the mezuzahs in IDF army bases are not kosher and have not been checked for many years by the army rabbinate.
"We were astonished to discover the neglect in the IDF with respect to the mezuzahs at army bases," said members of the association. "Soldiers had to provide us with information about places where there are invalid or faded mezuzahs and even empty mezuzah cases. This is an essential holy item to be found in every traditional home."
An IDF spokesman said that "the IDF endeavors every year to change the mezuzahs which have become worn and faded with time in order to respect the needs of all of its soldiers. There is no known budgetary problem with this issue and in the coming months new mezuzahs will be provided by the IDF. Every individual request for changing a mezuzah will be dealt with accordingly."