Yoav Adomi has spent almost six months on army reserve duty since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas, leaving behind his wife, children and insurance-technology job in Tel Aviv.
As many as 350,000 of his fellow Israelis are in similar positions, putting family obligations, work and studies on hold to help wage the campaign in the Gaza Strip, or fend off aerial attacks from Iran-backed Hezbollah to the north.
Their burden exposes Israel’s struggle to boost the ranks of the armed forces while preventing a shortage of workers from harming the economy, all while resentment brews over resistance by ultra-Orthodox Jews to heed the call to national service.
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