The months-long confrontation and division of Israeli society over this controversial reform has also seeped into the ranks of the Israeli armed forces.
The Israeli army may arrest reservists who have said they will not report to serve in protest of the Israeli government’s judicial reform plans, Army Radio reported today.
The months-long confrontation and division of Israeli society over this controversial reform has also seeped into the ranks of the Israeli armed forces, an institution that has always stayed away from political issues and is seen by Israelis as a “melting pot” of society’s differences.
In this context, there are many who express concerns about the combat readiness of the armed forces
A scene from the film, released online, shows a gunner in combat desperately calling for air strikes, with the pilot on the other line asking him: “Are you for or against reform?”
Culture Minister Miki Zohar uploaded the film but later took it down after a military spokesman said it was “intended to cause rifts in the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF, Israel’s armed forces)”. However, Zohar insisted on Twitter that the film conveyed a “message of unity”.
The military spokesman’s office has not released official figures for reservists who have declared they will not report for duty., when called. However, Army Radio, a popular Israeli radio station run by the defense ministry, reported that “several hundred” reservists have announced they will not respond to calls to report for military service.
Most of them are from the Air Force, Army Radio reported.
Punitive measures being considered for those who refuse to report include arrest, suspension and discharge, Army Radio noted — noting, however, that because Air Force reservists are designated as volunteers, they may be treated differently than reservists who are required to report when called.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that his government would take action against what he described as insubordination. “There cannot be a group within the military that threatens the elected government,” Netanyahu told the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
“Refusal of military service endangers the safety of every citizen of Israel,” he said.
According to military figures published by the Globes newspaper in March, 4% of Israelis aged 22 to 45 are called up as reservists.
Source :Skai
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