Hundreds of reservists may stop working in protest against the religious right-wing government’s plans.
Resistance to judicial reform promoted by the Israeli government continues to grow: according to media reports, hundreds of air force reservists no longer want to attend service in protest against the plans of the religious right-wing government. Pilots are also among them, Israeli media reported late on Wednesday, citing army circles.
Experts have warned for some time that turning away a few hundred reservists could severely limit the Air Force’s operational capability. However, the military stated that they were currently able to maintain their operational readiness.
The Haaretz newspaper reported that some reservists would stop their service immediately, while others would stop only if a controversial law was passed. This is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plans to be approved within a week. It should no longer be possible for the Supreme Court to assess the decisions of the government or individual justices as “inappropriate”.
Earlier this year, judges ruled the appointment of Schas party chairman Arie Deri as interior minister due to his criminal past as “inappropriate”. As a result, Netanyahu had to fire his confidant. Observers hope the coalition wants to reverse this with the new law. Critics fear there could be arbitrary dismissals of opponents of government policy 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 approved. More could follow. Netanyahu recently called the conscientious objection request and conscientious objection itself “illegal”. Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets against the controversial judicial reform for months.