Israel: June 2, 2005

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The Israeli military is, like the United States, having a problem with the morale of its reservists. Like the U.S., Israel used a lot of reserve troops for its war against terrorism. The reservists were not happy with all that active duty. Unlike the U.S., Israel uses conscripts. Israeli reservists cannot just quit, but they can perform less enthusiastically, and this makes the terrorists more effective. So Israel is trying to come up with new ways to mobilize reservists, that will make the reservists less unhappy with the call ups, and thus more effective when they are on active duty. Israel will not discuss the details of how low reservist morale is hurting counter-terrorist efforts.