Six months into war, Israeli soldiers still count on donations for basic supplies. Why?

• Published date: 19 April 2024
• Author: ASAF ELIA-SHALEV/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"We are in dire need of equipment: tactical helmets, tactical uniforms, tactical boots (in all sizes), tactical eyeglasses, knee pads, leathermans, good gun straps, and decent tactical gloves," Shalman wrote in Secret Jerusalem, a group with tens of thousands of English speakers

Many responded with offers to help. But the comments also devolved into a heated debate: Why, six months into war, are soldiers like Shalman still relying on the generosity of strangers? Why is the military not supplying the soldiers by itself?

It's a question shared by many Jews in Israel and the Diaspora. Since October 7, they have been deluged with what can feel like an overwhelming number of fundraising appeals — and have responded by directing more than $1 billion to Israel soldiers, according to a major fundraiser's rough estimate. As the war goes on, they say they are still glad to help, but can't shake the feeling that things shouldn't be this way.

"We want to keep them as safe as possible and we want to help them as much as we can," Nechama Kravitz, who moved to Israel from Los Angeles in 2022 and has family in the Israeli military, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "But I am incredibly confused and disturbed about why the government is not capable of supplying their soldiers. If you're sending your boys to war, you equip them adequately. Why is this being left up to private individuals?"

According to the official line, the Israeli military provides for all the needs of its soldiers. "Today, all soldiers have the required equipment according to their division and mission," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in an email.

The Israeli military did not respond to further questions, and the Ministry of Defense did not respond at all to inquiries from JTA.

In reality, countless Israeli soldiers can be found all over the internet asking the public to donate basic supplies for needed combat or to ensure a minimal level of comfort.

In a widely circulating video, for example, an Israeli soldier explains why the knee pads provided by the military are inadequate. "They were great 10 years ago," the soldier says in the video. "The straps are worn out and they don't stay on my leg. They're very thin, not incredibly comfortable. They passed through numerous soldiers and weren't taken care of."

Some of the soldiers — as well as experts in wartime logistics and volunteers who have stepped in to coordinate donations — see the situation as evidence of failures by the Israeli military to anticipate and respond to pressing needs, some with life-and-death stakes.

Micha Shtiebel is an Israeli reserve soldier who was called up for duty on October 7, taking leave from his job at a Silicon Valley-based tech firm to rejoin his combat unit. His unit, with what he described as "very...