Protest against judicial reform
Luftwaffe reservists want to refuse service
07/19/2023 9:59 p.m
The government’s envisaged reform of the judiciary not only upsets the civilian population. According to a report, numerous reservists also want to refuse service if the project is not stopped. The military should still be able to act, it is said.
Resistance to the judicial reform pushed by the Israeli government continues to grow: According to media reports, hundreds of air force reservists no longer want to appear on duty in protest against the plans of the right-wing religious government. The Israeli media reported, citing army circles, that pilots were also among them.
Experts have been warning for some time that the refusal of a few hundred reservists could severely limit the air force’s operational capability. However, the military reportedly stated that it was currently able to maintain its operational readiness. The Haaretz newspaper reported that some reservists would stop their service immediately, while others would only stop if a controversial law was passed.
This is part of the plans of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which should be adopted within a week. It should then no longer be possible for the Supreme Court to assess decisions by the government or individual ministers as “inappropriate”. At the beginning of the year, the judges classified the appointment of the chairman of the Schas party, Arie Deri, as interior minister because of his criminal past as “inappropriate”. As a result, Netanyahu had to fire his confidante. Observers expect that the coalition wants to reverse this with the new law.
Critics fear there could be arbitrary dismissals of government policy opponents in key positions. Thousands of reservists from various branches of the army have threatened to withdraw from their duties if part of the judicial reform is passed. More could follow. Netanyahu recently described the request for conscientious objection and the conscientious objection itself as “unlawful”. Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets against the controversial judicial reform for months.