Israel must stop mistreating IDF soldiers - editorial

• Author: JPOST EDITORIAL
• Published date: 30 September 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The photos were taken at a Central Bus Station in one of Israel's largest cities. The soldiers, who could not find a place on the bus, decided to risk their lives and ride inside the trunk, fearing that they would be late arriving at their base, and would be punished.

This scene is not rare: every Sunday, soldiers throughout the country struggle to find seats on buses and trains that will take them to their bases and outposts. Soldiers sit on the floor of buses or on each other's laps on the train and bus. The overcrowding also causes soldiers to gather in masses near traffic junctions, putting their lives — and drivers' lives — at risk.

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The reason is that the Transportation Ministry and Defense Ministry are not allocating enough means of transportation for soldiers to arrive at their bases on time. At the same time, the IDF does not show consideration to those who cannot get to the base on time, forcing soldiers to risk their lives in order to do so.

This phenomenon is just another indication that the lives of soldiers, and the conditions of their service, are not taken seriously by the state's institutions. It seems like officials in the defense ministry, and in other ministries, believe that if these young women and men are willing to risk their lives for the country, they might as well be treated as inferior.

Earlier this year, images of pigeons sitting inside serving bowls inside an IDF dining room were posted on social networks. It was followed by an N12 investigative report that found that in many military bases, the food is inedible, and in some cases, it is even dangerous.

This adds to crumbling walls and deteriorating living conditions in some old Golan Heights bases, like cold water in the showers and other complaints that are heard regularly by soldiers serving in the IDF.

Why are soldiers, who are giving two to three years of their lives to serve the country, treated this way? Why can't they have decent living conditions through these years of service, when many of them...