According to Avi Mayer, the Editor in Chief of the Jerusalem Post, an Israeli paper, a wealthy, Orthodox Jewish donor paid out of his own pocket for 250 Israel Defense Forces soldier to head home to Israel after the were mobilized to defend their nation against Hamas.
As background, Israel has mobilized nearly 360,000 reservists in the IDF since Hamas’ weekend attack, with the called up members of the forces presumably being used to reinforce the active-duty service members as they prepare to strike into Gaza and potentially defend Israel’s northern border from Hezbollah, along with dealing with unrest in Jerusalem.
Mayer reported that on X, formerly Twitter, writing, “I just read an account by an El Al crew member. An Orthodox Jewish man who preferred to remain anonymous stood quietly near the El Al counter at New York’s JFK Airport yesterday. Anyone who showed him an IDF call-up notice got his ticket paid for. He paid for 250 tickets.”
I just read an account by an El Al crew member.
An Orthodox Jewish man who preferred to remain anonymous stood quietly near the El Al counter at New York's JFK Airport yesterday.
Anyone who showed him an IDF call-up notice got his ticket paid for.
He paid for 250 tickets.
— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) October 10, 2023
Questioning the story, one commenter asked why the donor would need to pay for tickets if the reservists were returning home for duty, asking if the US military requires reservists pay for their tickets as well. “They were called up? And then they have to pay for an international ticket to fly there – does the U.S. military do that?” he asked. Responding, another commenter noted, “If you’re a reservist in the US military they’ll only pay for travel from your home of record.”
If you’re a reservist in the US military they’ll only pay for travel from your home of record.
— Peter Pilot🚁 (@guardpilot) October 10, 2023
The massive military mobilization embarked upon by Israel has called up about 4 percent of Israel’s 9.8 million population, with families split and jobs left behind as reservists report to depots and prepare for what seems to be an imminent operation in Gaza.
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Franz-Stefan Grady, posting on X about the scope of the call-up, wrote, “The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) managed to mobilize 300,000 reservists within 48 hours. In terms of cold start capability the IDF remains unmatched by the rest of the world. A large-scale cold-start capability is what European militaries need to prop up conventional deterrence.”
Continuing, Grady added, “For comparison: Finland can draw on a reserve of ~238,000. 18,000 reservists a year conduct refresher training. The total obligation is 80 days for soldiers, 150 for NCOs, 200 for officers between conscript service until age 50 with NCOs and officers to age 60.”
He then said, “The major issue with refresher training in the Finnish forces as far as I know is that for some units & soldiers there can be gaps up to five years between trainings which can negatively impact force readiness.”
The Washington Post notes that Israelis abroad have had issues finding flights back, a problem alleviated in a small way by the donor who bought 250 tickets, saying, “Families were split, while Israelis abroad for the Jewish holidays were left scrambling to find flights back to Israel as many airlines suspended flights.”