From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Equal Opportunities Commission: ‘Unprecedented increase’ in workplace discrimination complaints from reservists, their spouses
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
2024 saw an “unprecedented increase” in the number of complaints from IDF reservists and their spouses submitted to the Equal Opportunities Commission, lawmakers hear during a discussion in the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee.
In a report, the agency states that last year complaints about workplace discrimination increased by 56 percent, with 63% of the total being due to calls from IDF reservists or their spouses. The report also states that the number of complaints about discrimination against reservists increased to 803 from only 26 in 2023, a 31-fold rise.
“This was the year in which we received the most complaints ever, and as noted, over 60% of the calls dealt with reserve service members and their spouses,” the commission’s Sivan Azoulay tells the committee.
The increase in complaints is likely linked to the multiple wide-scale reserve mobilizations called by the IDF in the wake of October 7, with many people serving for hundreds of days over the past 18 months.
The war and the repeated call-ups of reservists have created a “complete disruption of daily life,” declares Ofir Tal of the Reservists Forum, stating that “even the most caring and inclusive employer asks himself after the fifth [reserve call-up] order whether to give the employee a new project.”
“We are witnessing an unprecedented increase in the number of complaints and I see the utmost importance in protecting the reservists, who are forced to deal with severe damage to their livelihoods, exclusion from promotion, and even dismissal,” says committee deputy chair MK Debbie Biton (Yesh Atid).
“This is a direct attack on Israel’s national resilience.”
Days ago, the IDF announced that it was sending out tens of thousands of reservist call-up orders as the military was set to significantly expand its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Citing statistics from the Reservists’ Wives Forum, Channel 12 reported in late March that 34% of salaried reservists have been “hurt economically because of their service” in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The statistics showed that 56% of the wives of salaried reservists said they had to reduce their own work hours and take salary cuts. Of the 34% of salaried reservists cited above, a quarter were fired and another quarter had to quit their jobs, the report said.
Among reservists who are self-employed, 72% said their economic situation has worsened, and 54% said their income had fallen by over 50%.
The TV report also quoted from a separate survey, by the government’s Israeli Employment Service, in which 75% of reservists who responded said they have been hurt economically, and 41% of respondents said they were fired or had to quit their jobs or close their businesses. The service noted, however, that these figures did not constitute a representative sample of the 1,000 reservists who were surveyed.
The Times of Israel Community.