The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) faces a profound crisis in retaining high-quality career officers, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7th attacks and the Iron Swords War. This comprehensive analysis examines the systemic challenges eroding the attractiveness of military career service, including economic factors, shifting workplace norms, organizational culture issues, and generational preferences. Based on extensive interviews with former career officers who chose to leave the military despite promising advancement opportunities, this document identifies critical issues undermining the IDF's human resource foundation and provides actionable recommendations for addressing what may be the most severe personnel crisis in the military's history.

1. The Changing Status of Career Service in the IDF

The IDF has traditionally been described as a "people's army," with mandatory service and reserves forming its foundation. However, the professional career service component—comprising approximately 15-20% of the organization—serves as the military's operational backbone, maintaining organizational memory and infrastructure. Since the 1990s, significant changes have occurred in the status of career service personnel, coinciding with a decline in the social and national value attributed to the military.

While the IDF maintains the highest public trust among Israeli institutions, this trust increasingly applies to specific units rather than the organization…