IDF soldiers and ‘frequent fighter points’

It is no secret that the Gaza War is having a profound and devastating impact on families and relationships. The prolonged nature of this relentless war has created deep psychological and interpersonal challenges for a vast number of soldiers who have served for nearly two years.

In the face of this, I recently became aware of an IDF initiative that aims to ease this toll by rewarding reservists who have served extended tours of duty with what I have come to call “frequent fighter points”. These vouchers, which can be used at hotels, restaurants, concerts, spas and movie theatres, serve a dual purpose: to honour the soldiers for their immense service during this harrowing war, and to mitigate the economic damage the war has caused to the tourist sector.

There are currently around 170,000 active personnel in the IDF and 465,000 reservists. After regular service, soldiers remain in the reserves until the age of 40. In peacetime, they serve one month each year, but due to the extraordinary demands of this war – the longest and most complex Israel has faced – the army has relied heavily on its reservists.

“Regular” soldiers simply cannot meet the massive resource demands, and so reservists have been called on for hundreds of days. Even those older than 40 have volunteered to serve.

Many of these reservists are not young, single men. They are parents with young families, and many have spent little to no time at home with their children since October 7, 2023. Some have left behind newborns or toddlers they barely know. The emotional toll of this separation has deeply affected marriages, relationships and family life as a whole.

Fathers and mothers are returning home from military service exhausted, physically drained and mentally scarred by what they have endured. They need rest. They need time to process what are often deeply traumatic experiences. Yet, when they arrive home, they are met with children desperate for their attention, and partners who have shouldered the burden of parenting alone for months, sometimes years. To make matters worse, many return with mental and physical injuries, and the financial consequences of their extended absences from work have left some without jobs or forced businesses to close.

Military psychologist Dr C. has noted that this reality is causing “many complex problems” and, tragically, contributing to an increase in separations and divorces. To address these struggles, the army has distributed vouchers to thousands of reservists, thanking them for their service while encouraging them to spend precious time with their families.

The aim of these vouchers is to create moments of reconnection that allow families to heal, rebuild and simply enjoy each other’s company. I attended a concert one warm summer night where a thousand reservists, who had received these vouchers, shared a few hours of normalcy. For a few hours, they could forget the war and sing along to the music, far removed from the chaos and stress of the battlefield. At a hotel in the Negev, children splashed joyfully in the pool with their fathers, while mothers sat in the shade, exchanging stories of the struggles they’ve faced as single parents.

But frequent fighter points serve another crucial purpose – they help sustain the tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the war. Since the conflict began, the tourist industry, which once contributed around three per cent to Israel’s GDP, has borne the brunt of the economic fallout. Tourism has almost completely vanished. Major tourist sites that were once teeming with visitors are now deserted. Thousands of hotel rooms across Israel remain empty, leaving those who rely on tourism for a living without work or income.

Furthermore, with global antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment at record highs, many reservists I spoke to revealed a painful truth: they now prefer to stay within Israel to avoid the hostility they might face abroad. Some told me that, for the first time in their lives, they would hide their nationality and avoid speaking Hebrew in public when they eventually travel overseas.

This stark reality has led many to embrace “staycations”, using their frequent fighter points to find some solace and peace here in Israel.

As we move forward, let us hope that the IDF achieves its goals of keeping families together, mending fractured relationships and supporting the ailing tourist sector. And, when this war finally ends, let us pray that the soldiers return home for good, and that frequent fighter points will no longer be needed, as families begin to rebuild and heal from the deep wounds this war has caused.

Anna Pasternak is director of The AJN.