Tens of thousands are taking to the streets against the judicial reform in Israel – among them are reservists from the army. Can they influence Netanyahu’s government with another strike?
Herzi Halevy walks across the airfield in Tel Nof, south of Tel Aviv, in an olive-colored jumpsuit. In the video of the Israeli army, it seems as if the chief of staff wants to check whether all soldiers are ready for action. Because there are doubts about that.
More than 150 reserve pilots have announced that they will no longer volunteer if the judicial reform passes parliament in the next few days. One of them is Omer Dank.
reservists resigned denial of service at
The soldier says: “If you attack a house in Gaza, Lebanon or anywhere, and you know that innocent people can also be injured, you have to have complete trust in the decision-making chain of the State of Israel.” But it had become clear to him that many people had lost confidence in the government’s decisions.
The reservists’ announcement that they would refuse to serve has great symbolic power. But does this really endanger Israel’s security?
Israeli reservists sign a statement in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2023 announcing the suspension of their voluntary reserve service.
Reserve can have limited influence
In theory, every soldier is part of the reserve after military service – up to the age of 40. The law provides for five weeks of service per year.
In practice, the situation is different: men and women are called to exercises and operations rather irregularly. There are no official figures. But only about 1.5 percent of the population is actively serving in reserve units, according to an analysis by think tank INSS.
According to the analysis, their influence in society is decreasing – as is that of the army as a whole. But in individual units it depends on the reservists, for example the pilots. And they feel a strong connection to the army.
government takes possible denial of service serious
“For the reservists, the Air Force comes first, along with their closest family,” says the soldier. “We are an integral part of the Air Force and conduct the most difficult operations.” The Luftwaffe reservists are always on call and generally “always” report for duty.
The words of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu show how seriously the government takes reservists like Omer Dank. He called the announced refusal to work earlier in the week “a danger to security”. And he reminded the soldiers that they answer to the elected government.
Prime Minister Netanyahu called the announced denial of service “a threat to security”.
chief of staff appeals to reserve morale
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy also warned and appealed to the morale of the reservists: “The challenges to security are currently forcing us to be very prepared. For that we need training and cohesion. Anyone who calls for refusal to serve not only violates the army, but also the security of the state.”
The influence the army can have on judicial reform was shown in March. Defense Minister Joav Galant picked up on the mood of many soldiers and publicly warned against implementing the reform. Prime Minister Netanyahu then wanted to fire him, but later withdrew that.
Pilots could probably stop the judicial reform
However, together with a strike call from the largest trade union association, this ensured that Netanyahu put parts of the judicial reform on hold. Now he is pursuing them further – driven by his radical coalition partners.
They may also secretly bet on the reservists being called back on duty in the event of a military escalation. For the protest movement, however, the pilots seem to be the last ace to stop the judicial reform.