9/9/2023 0 Comments Israel breaking news now![]() Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's divisive plan to reshape the country's justice system despite massive protests that have exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society. “We feel like we are doing the right thing, and that we are fighting for the democracy of Israel,” one reservist, who has been volunteering for 23 years, told CNN at a protest in Jerusalem on Tuesday.ĭemonstrators block the traffic on a highway crossing the city during a protest against plans by Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Monday, July 24, 2023. The Israeli Air Force makes up one third of the IDF’s manpower. Israelis can remain part of the reserve until their forties or sometimes beyond.Īmong those threatening to quit are more than 1,000 reservists in the Israeli Air Force, whom Golov describes as one the military’s “main, major forces,” defining its aerial abilities. “They comprise the majority, the bigger fraction of the IDF,” Golov told CNN, adding that their strength is not only in numbers, but also in their higher expertise.Īfter completing their mandatory service, soldiers can remain part of the country’s reserve army – a force of some 400,000 soldiers who can at any moment be called to serve. Yiftach Golov, a disabled IDF veteran and a leading member of Brothers and Sisters in Arms, the IDF reservists and veterans protest movement, said that “by definition, the reservists are the backbone of the IDF.” Palestinian citizens of Israel and ultra-Orthodox Jews are exempt from swerving, among some others. When the vote passed on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the IDF to “stay out of any political controversy,” saying that “the call for refusal harms the security of all citizens of the country.”Ī country that went to war shortly after its founding in 1948, Israel has fought seven wars and engaged in several other smaller conflicts with its neighbors.Įvery Israeli over the age of 18 who is Jewish, Druze or Circassian must serve in the military, an institution that is deeply entrenched in many Israelis’ sense of identity and nationhood. Speaking about reservists refusing, Freilich said that “on the one hand, it is admirable.” But on the other hand, he said, “it is a horrible thing for the IDF.” It was remarkable, he added, that one of the world’s better militaries “is threatening to come apart at the seams over domestic changes.” Jack Guez/AFP/Getty ImagesĬivil unrest, legal appeals and military disobedience: What Israel may face after Supreme Court law changeĬhuck Freilich, a senior researcher at The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv who served for over 20 years in Israel’s national security establishment, said that Israel is at a historical “inflection point,” in which “extreme measures may have to be taken to endure Israel’s fundamental character of democracy.” The threat is unprecedented in its scope, experts say, and the military has pleaded with reservists to remain in their posts.Īn Israeli riot policeman stands behind a metal fence being shoved by demonstrators during a protest rally against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul plan in Tel Aviv on Monday. It is a gradual process that will be affected according to the presence of the reservists,” he said. “If reservists do not show up for a long time, there will be damage to the army’s competence. ![]() Daniel Hagari told reporters on Tuesday, but he acknowledged that the country’s military readiness could be affected. ![]() “At the current point in time, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is competent,” IDF Chief Spokesperson Rear Adm. The law that came into effect on Wednesday took away the court’s power to veto government decisions based on them being “unreasonable.” Millions opposed the change, according to opinion polls, which critics said would erode the independence of the courts and harm Israel’s democracy. And Israel’s leaders are sounding alarms about the country’s readiness for war. As Israel plunges deeper into crisis after the country’s parliament passed the first bill of a controversial judicial overhaul, thousands of Israeli army reservists – the backbone of the Israeli military – are threatening not to show up for work. ![]()
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