IDF assures reservists they are insured By Arieh O'Sullivan

JERUSALEM (July 24) - The defense establishment moved into public relations high gear yesterday, after a reserve battalion threatened not to show up for service unless the IDF takes out proper insurance for them.

Senior IDF officers met with the armored battalion's commanders yesterday to convince them that they are indeed insured. The reserve commanders had sent a letter to OC Northern Command, to which their battalion is assigned, saying they were frustrated with the foot-dragging and broken promises on the matter.

Defense Ministry Director-General Amos Yaron, who rarely gives radio interviews, spoke on Israel Radio yesterday, insisting that the reservists were misinformed and that insurance policies have been in effect retroactively since January 1999. He also said any claims by reservists would be processed by the Defense Ministry and not the insurance companies.

The IDF hastily arranged a press briefing with OC Manpower Maj.-Gen. Gil Regev to defuse the threats of a "reservist strike." Regev said insurance policies for reservists are identical to those in the professional army, and that there is no justification for reservists' fears they are being discriminated against.

Regev said there is currently a "crisis in confidence" between the IDF and reserve units. He said reservists simply did not believe the IDF when it told them it had solved the insurance problem.

The IDF said it plans to hold marathon discussions with reserve commanders to convince them there are no grounds for any reservist to refuse duty based on life insurance.

The dispute revolves around the three-part insurance policy taken out for reservists. It includes a one-time payment in case of death while in uniform, a stipend for the reservist's survivors, and payment for reservists who lose the ability to work while on duty.

Regev said that the one-time payment - NIS 280,000 - is identical for reservists and those in the professional forces. He said the family stipend is also similarly identical, and from August 1 will be covered by an insurance company based abroad that has reached a deal with the IDF.

But reservists are also angered by the fact that the insurance arrangement was not enshrined in law as the government had promised. This is apparently due to concerns by the Finance Ministry that they will be swamped with costly retroactive claims. Yaron said that the Justice and Finance ministries are in the final stages of a draft bill.

http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2001/07/24/News/News.31061.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 23, 2001