January 16, 2024: To deal with the October 2023 Hamas attack, Israel called up 900,000 reservists (10 percent of Israel’s population) in the months after the initial Hamas violence. Not all of these were called up at once, but in stages, often to replace reservists who were allowed to go back to their civilian occupations. Israeli economists estimate that this massive mobilization caused the Israeli economy to shrink by two percent during the last three months of 2023. The reserve call ups will continue for months, until the remaining Hamas forces in Gaza have been eliminated. This comes at the cost of economic losses because of the workers absent from their jobs. The losses are evenly distributed throughout the economy.

The current war with Hamas has disrupted the economy in other ways because some parts of the Israeli economy depend on Palestinian workers entering Israel for specific tasks, like harvesting crops, especially fruits, which are a valuable export item. Without the Palestinians, Israel relied on Israelis who volunteered to harvest these crops before they spoiled. Longer term, Israel can arrange for temporary workers to be brought in from other, non-Moslem, parts of the world. This has been done during previous emergencies. The Palestinians resent losing these employment opportunities temporarily, but many realize that the cause is the small minority of Palestinians who are carrying out attacks against Israelis and will resort to blending in with non-violent Palestinians to do so.

Israel uses conscription, mainly to provide trained reservists. Israel has the most powerful armed forces in the Middle East and manages to achieve this with a population of only nine million. One reason for this is the Israeli use of reserve troops. While only two percent of the population are in the active army, ten percent are in the reserves. There are former full-time soldiers who train regularly and can be called back to active service quickly. This is called the reserve system, and it is a relatively recent development.

It all began some two hundred years ago, when several major European nations began conscripting civilians for the military on a regular basis. These soldiers served for only two or three years before being released. Shortly thereafter, clever staff officers in several nations came up with the notion of bringing some of these former soldiers back to the army in times of national danger. This was done by enrolling discharged soldiers in reserve units and having them show up in uniform and with weapons for some training a few times a year. Thus began the reserve system, which enabled enormous armies to be created quickly and relatively inexpensively. World Wars I and II would not have been possible without the reserve system.

Some nations, like Israel, Sweden, and Switzerland, continued this reserve system after the Cold War ended. These three nations enrolled a large portion of the adult males into the reserves. As a result, full mobilization calls up so much of the population that it severely disrupts the economy. Sweden and Switzerland are neutral and depend more on the threat of mobilization. Israel has had to mobilize many times in the past and will probably have to do it again. Israel has to win quickly, and her enemies know that. However, Israel has adapted its economy to full mobilization. Forty years ago, such a mobilization put 15 percent of the population in uniform but now it's ten percent that, and configurable for lesser proportions. That’s enough so Israel can keep fighting long enough to deal with not merely sudden emergencies, but several at the same time.

Israel, Sweden, and Switzerland all depend on reserve units formed around reservists from the same area. While some reservists are used to reinforce active duty units, most mobilize and go to war with their local reserve units. In effect, reservists serve in units that will, quite literally, defend the homes and families of the reservists. That is a tremendous motivator to learn military skills and perform your duties effectively. It also enables much faster mobilization, which was critical for Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Israel is unique in that its reservists, especially those in combat units, are frequently mobilized in peacetime. About 30 percent of Israeli reservists are mobilized each year for more than a few days, most often for only a week or two but sometimes for several months though the latter is spread out among many units to reduce the burden on the reservists involved. About two-thirds of those mobilized are combat troops. Not surprisingly, half of reserve troops are married. Some 14 percent of the reservists are women, up from 11 percent four years earlier. About 16 percent of Israeli reservists were born overseas. Reservists serve until their early 40s, if physically able, and can continue until 51.