When army fans out, Israel spreads thin

And Thursday, everyone had gathered to bury 29-year-old Moshe Gerstner, piling rich red dirt over his grave, and then wailing a mourner’s Kaddish that pierced the serenity of a cemetery near dusk. ‘‘The soldiers were ready to follow him anywhere,’’ said Tzahi Altresku, 34, an electrical company repairman and reservist whose boots were still covered with Jenin mud.

Trying to protect its citizens from suicide bombers, Israel is sending its soldiers — including reservists such as Moshe Gerstner — to the West Bank to take up positions and the dangerous task of rooting out Palestinian extremists.

In a tiny country with an army sustained by conscripts and reservists, the death of one soldier affects not just one family, but a web that includes school, work and neighbourhood.

It is Israel’s largest conscription in decades, with over 20,000 reservists called up, some moving directly from office to front-line. In employing them, Israeli politicians are aware the country can sustain only so many military casualties before political support might ebb.

The nature of the Israeli military ensures security is a family matter. Every 18-year-old must serve, although there are plentiful exemptions. Men conscripts serve three years and women two years. Combat reserve duty stretches until a soldier reaches mid-40s.

According to Charles Heyman, editor of Janes World Armies, Israel has about 120,000 personnel in its active military, including 80,000 conscripts. Heyman said the military can call on up to 400,000 reservists.

But he said Israel faces a problem in calling them up. ‘‘You can only keep those guys in uniform for so long, otherwise the country grinds to a halt.’’ The call-up can come in the form of a knock on the door, a phone call or a coded radio message.

(LA Times-Washington Post)