The Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee on Monday discussed the current policy permitting the induction of son’s of bereaved families into IDF combat units.

In accordance with the current policy, if a son fell during IDF service, other children wishing to enter combat units must obtain permission from parents. Such a reality places undue pressure on parents and many feel this practice simply cannot continue.

According to Chief of IDF Personnel Branch Major-General Avi Zamir, 4-5 families sign annually, preventing their sons from entering combat units. Officials add that on an average, 450 bereaved inductees join the IDF, with about 40 serving in combat units.

The new arrangement will take bereaved parents out of the picture, no longer having to approve the entry into combat units by subsequent children.

The chairman of the Knesset committee, MK (Kadima) Tzachi Hanegbi favors a system that removes pressure from parents.

The new plan being discussed is that a sibling of a soldier killed in service would receive a special draft notice, listing an array of non-combat options, and such a soldier would be compelled to volunteer for combat service, or would automatically be placed in a non-combat post.

If an inductee wishes to serve in a combat position, specially trained personnel would meet with them, “taking them through the entire procedure” and explaining the realities of such a decision. At this time, parents may still object and bring and end to the combat assignment. In essence, parents will maintain veto power but they do not have to approve a child entering a combat unit if they do not object.

Officials explain they are walking a delicate line, seeking to find a balance between a family suffering another loss chas v’sholom and respecting the wishes of new inductees, some who feel it is their right to be combatants despite the family’s loss.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)