IDF to begin belt-tightening, may give radio the boot

The IDF will begin making a series of cutbacks and organizational changes in the coming weeks and months to further streamline the army and increase its efficiency as part of the 5-year Gideon plan, a senior official says.

Following a 2-day workshop with the IDF’s General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot recommended transferring various elements of the army’s education corps, Military Advocate General’s unit, Military Rabbinate, Military Censor unit and others from army control to civilian control, the officer tells The Times of Israel.

The overall plan will see a reduction in personnel across the board. Officers older than 28 will be forced to move either “up or out,” the official says.

Among those on the chopping block, the Army Radio news station and musical Galgalatz radio station were recommended by the General Staff for transfer out of the army and into purely civilian hands.

“The military position is not to close it, but it doesn’t need to be within the IDF. The IDF does not need to have any public media outlets. Where to put it, that’s for the government to decide,” the IDF official says.

Some of these decisions will require the approval of the government, while others will go into effect immediately.

— Judah Ari Gross