About 10,000 Israel Defense Forces reservists stated Saturday night that they would cease their volunteer reserve duty in opposition to the government’s intentions in a last-ditch effort to stop judicial reform legislation of the reasonability law.
Brothers in Arms leaders made the announcement during a press conference in Herzliya.
According to IDF sources, the decision will have an impact on the nation’s preparedness and the army’s capacity to call up the appropriate forces when necessary.
“We have tried everything; this is the point at which we give up. We promised to work for the kingdom rather than the monarch. One of the Brothers in Arms commanders, Eyal Naveh, said, “We are resolute, we are fighters, we love our nation, and we will not give up on it.
He asserted that the leaders spoke for almost 10,000 reservists from numerous units who would cease their volunteer service if the government kept pushing the contentious legislation.
Captain (res.) Nevo Erez, a former top official in the Mossad espionage agency and the leader of the elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, stated at the conference that he would not be able to serve in what he called a dictatorship.
He addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly, saying, “You and you alone are accountable for what is taking place here.
Although we had faith in the government, it let us down. I won’t offer my services to a dictatorship.
In a letter published earlier on Saturday, over 500 active members of the Military Intelligence Directorate stated that they, too, were halting their volunteer reserve service in opposition to the revamp.
In a letter to the government, the Military Intelligence Reserve members demanded that it “immediately stop the dictatorial moves that violate the contract between the government of Israel and its citizens.
Despite our repeated requests for negotiations and comprehensive agreements on the pertinent subjects, the letter stated that unfortunately, not only did the negotiations at the president’s residence not go well, but the government continues to advance the coup with even more vigor.
The reservists stated that they were telling their commanders of their decision to stop reserve service “with great sadness” until further notice.
More than a thousand Israeli Air Force reserve members announced on Friday that they would forgo their volunteer reserve duty in opposition to the judicial reform.
By Saturday night, 1,192 people had signed the letter, including more than 400 pilots.
According to sources in the Hebrew media, IDF chief Herzi Halevi was scheduled to speak with Netanyahu on Sunday about the rising number of reservists quitting their volunteer service and the anticipated effect on military readiness.
As part of the ongoing judicial reforms, the government is expected to enact legislation on Monday that will limit judges’ use of the arbitrary “reasonability” test in relation to decisions made by the executive branch. Government representatives have stated that the law must pass because doing otherwise would amount to military blackmail and set a risky precedent.
With hundreds of reservists pushing for their volunteer reserve duty to stop, the IDF appears to be under an unprecedented threat.
The IDF foresaw a significant wave of standing army disobedience during the 2005 Gaza Strip disengagement, although few actually refused to obey the departure orders.
The IDF has stated that it will punish and even discharge reserve members from active duty for failing to report for duty, but it will not take action against those who threaten to miss duty.
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