Attorney Amnon Lurik has petitioned the High Court of Justice in behalf of his children Aril, Amir and Shani, explaining in the past twenty years, the salary of the IDF chief of staff has increase 40% while the salary of soldiers only enjoyed a 20% increase. He adds that a non-combatant soldier today earns a measly 352.20 NIS monthly ($87.39) and a combat soldier receives several hundred shekels more.

He points out that an avreich earns 1,040 NIS monthly in addition to tuition assistance amounting to 3,000 NIS annually, as well as arnona property tax deductions and other perks. Lurik therefore feels the minimum monthly salary for a soldier should be 1,289 NIS, and this figure must be linked to the monthly index to prevent it from deteriorating.

Prior to filing his petition Lurik turned to the Office of the IDF Spokesman in the hope of learning why the monthly salary of soldiers has not been increased in many years. The response was that soldiers receive between 352 NIS – 710 NIS monthly in addition to other benefits, such as food, clothing, free transportation, and more.

The Defense Ministry has a plan to increase the salary of combat soldiers now standing at 700 NIS monthly. In a soldier’s first year the salary will be 1,035 NIS, 1,500 NIS in the second year and 2,200 in the third year. The salary of non-combatants will also increase from today’s 350 NIS to 520 NIS in the first year, 700 NIS in the second year and 1,000 in the third year. This plan is supposed to be presented as a government bill, but due to the strained relations that exist between the Defense Ministry and Treasury, it is questionable if the bill will move forward.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)