Army reservists had two pieces of bad news from the Knesset this afternoon. The legislature passed bills increasing annual reserve duty to 43 days and allowing the call-up of combat officers even after the age of 41. The bills passed their first reading, and changes can still be made. The Shinui party is in hot water with its constituency for going along with Likud-imposed "coalition discipline" and voting for the measures. Even some Shinui MKs were upset with the decision, and one of them even refused to show up for the vote, claiming he had to take his children to the doctor. Two of the MKs demanded that party leader Justice Minister Yosef (Tommy) Lapid explain the decision, in light of his campaign promises to try to "lighten the reserves duty load." Lapid said that the military situation requires "national responsibility."



MK Uri Ariel (National Union) told Arutz-7 today that the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee would demand to know why the IDF does not call up all army veterans who are eligible for reserve duty, and instead spreads the load among a small percentage of them.