Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrived at the recruitment office in Tel Aviv this morning (Sunday) and spoke with the new recruits amid reservists' anti-judicial reform protests.
Gallant commented on the state of qualification in the army: "Economics, learning Torah - and above all, the IDF hold the highest value in the State of Israel. I am in daily talks with the Chief of Staff to find a solution to the problems of competence and cohesion," he was quoted as telling them.
On the effect of the protest among the recruits, he said: "Everyone is dealing with the so-called 'social friction' in Israel. This thing, from all the data I see, it has no effect on the recruitment process and I am happy about that. People still want to enlist because they understand what is ahead of us."
According to him, "First of all, you will always have a commanding officer to report to. And secondly, you will always report events as they take place."
During the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discussions about two weeks ago, Gallant said that there could be damage in the long term to the army's competence, but noted that at the moment the army is well suited to take on new threats. Kan News reported that the discussion, which lasted for about three hours, was particularly stormy.
Minister Gallant said in the debate that, "there is limited damage to the IDF's competence in the short term, but there is a possibility of damage in the long term. The IDF remains capable of completing any mission ahead of it."
According to him, "Internal tensions are analyzed and studied by our enemies. In Hezbollah's opinion, it has greater room for maneuver now without the risk of escalation."