Court Orders Defense Ministry to Pay Reservist NIS 6,000 for Return Journey

A Tel Aviv Small Claims Court ordered the Defense Ministry to pay an IDF reservist NIS 6,000 after he financed a multi-leg journey home from Prague to answer an emergency call-up. Judge Aviyim Barkai awarded the NIS 5,000 maximum reimbursement under the 2025 Assistance Fund rules, plus NIS 1,000 in legal costs. The reservist traveled through London, Larnaca and Aqaba after his original flight was canceled. Barkai ruled that the ministry had relied on unpublished conditions requiring him to prove his necessity for service, despite the regulation promising compensation to reservists financially harmed by emergency-call-up flights.