Over 100 Israeli air force reservists say they will refuse to serve if judicial coup passed
The letter addressed to top military brass says reservists will ‘not serve in the army of a country that is not democratic,’ and will instead ‘defend the country in the streets,’ in a renewal of boycott threats as judicial overhaul marches on
Tens of thousands of Israelis attend a massive protest against the government’s judicial overhaul plan on March 11, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images
This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.
A group of 110 Israeli air force reservists announced in a letter on Wednesday that they would refuse to report for reserve duty if any part of the government’s proposed legislation to curb the independence of the country’s courts is passed.
They noted in particular pending legislation before the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee that would eliminate the court’s power to overturn cabinet decisions based on their being unreasonable.
The letter, which was addressed to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi and Air Force Commander Tomer Bar, was signed by reservists including those actually involved in flight operations. “We will not serve in the army of a country that is not democratic,” it read.
The reservists, who also include some involved in combat planning and flight control operations, said the legislation would give the government unlimited power that would no longer be subject to the restraints of the judiciary. Such a situation, they wrote, would lead the country to a point of “no return” and deal a critical blow to Israel’s democratic character.
“The legality of IDF operations is based on the State of Israel being a democratic country and on the existence of a strong, independent judiciary. If the legislation passes, we will continue to defend the State of Israel in the streets and [city] squares,” the letter stated.
The Knesset Constitution Committee’s legal adviser, Gur Blay, has warned against a complete elimination of the reasonableness standard but supported an alternative model that would remove the standard for decisions on policy issues.
In March, Bar suspended a colonel in the reserves, Gilad Peled, over his role in a protest by pilots and navigators against the proposed judicial overhaul. The suspension was later reversed, but such a move against a senior officer, even for a short period, prompted major criticism among other officers.
Following the suspension, a group of air force pilots and navigators met with Chief of Staff Halevi and warned that a majority of their reservist colleagues would stop doing reserve duty if the government passed the judicial overhaul. The meeting was attended by about 20 representatives of various squadrons and air traffic control staffers and came against a groundswell of involvement of reservists in the protest and the government’s plan.
According to a summary of the discussion, Halevi was told that the strength of the opposition to the overhaul varied from squadron to squadron but a substantial majority in all of them “would not continue to fly if the reform [the overhaul] passes in its current form.”
On Monday, 250 reservists from the Israeli army’s offensive cyber units also announced they would stop volunteering for reserve duty if the reform is passed.
The officers warned in the letter that many more people will cease volunteering for reserve duty “as the government continues to crush democracy.”
This letter follows a similar announcement from the army’s elite Unit 8200 released on Sunday. Retired members of the Shin Bet also made a similar statement to the media due to fears that “the continuation of the legislation will tear an irreparable rift in Israeli society and fatally damage national strength and the Israeli security establishment.”
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