As Israel’s air force reservists join protests, country faces potential turning point

JERSUALEM — Though Israeli lawmakers today passed the first key legislation related to a controversial judicial overhaul, the vote took place amid a backdrop of vocal, widespread domestic protests that have spread into Israel’s military reservist ranks, alarming senior Israeli officials.

More than 1,000 Israeli air force reservists announced late last week they could end their voluntary service as their part of the protest. The air force reservists have since been joined by another 10,000 reservists from elsewhere in Israeli Defense Forces, though it’s thought the air force veterans could carry more influence. Senior Israeli military officers acknowledged the crisis had spread through the reservist ranks.

Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said Friday he was working to reach a wide consensus to “ensure the security of the State of Israel, while leaving the IDF separate from political discourse.” The IDF Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, said on Sunday in an address to the IDF, “I would like to talk to you about the importance of unity and our readiness in times of dispute. We have tried to stay out of the current discourse, but given its current prominence in Israeli society, we got caught up in it and our unity was impaired. It is our duty to prevent these cracks from widening.”

While Israel’s security forces don’t comment on how the reservists joining the protests might impact operationally, the forces have a large number of soldiers in their mandatory service and those impacted so far are older voluntary reservists. Israel’s adversaries, such as Iran however, are paying close attention, as reflected in pro-government media there.

Air force reservists are a particularly sensitive part of the growing calls to stop the legislation because the branch is part a key part of its qualitative military edge in the region and are seen as an “elite” servicemembers. During a pilot graduation ceremony in 2022, then-Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, who now is one of the leading opponents of the reform legislation, highlighted the pilots’ importance, saying they, “who control the stick, hold the responsibility for the security of the State of Israel.”

Joining them are not only hundreds of thousands of protesters who have gathered every week in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities; but also doctors, other reserve soldiers, hi-tech sector businesses and now leading voices from the former military and security sector. Former Mossad head Yossi Cohen and former national security council head Meir Ben Shabbat also came out against the legislation over the weekend.

In Washington, the White House criticized the legislation, saying it’s “unfortunate that the vote took place with the slimmest majority possible.”

The legislation is supposed to be the first part of several controversial judicial reforms. The now-passed legislation amends a Basic Law that governs the judiciary in Israel, making it so courts can no longer consider the broad concept of “reasonableness” in their decisions. The courts would thus be curtailed in some of their considerations relating to issues of national importance. The protesters see this as symbolic because it opens the door to more curtailing of the court, seen as a check and balance on the right-leaning government.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defended the reforms as strengthening democracy, asserting that the courts have had too much power and leeway in the past. “People will see in the end that Israel was a democracy, is a democracy and will even be a stronger democracy,” he said in March. (Israeli governments have sought to check the power of the Supreme Court in the past, most notably in 2009 when then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert appointed Prof. Daniel Friedman as justice minister.) Critics of the recent legislation will now appeal to the Supreme Court, where a constitutional crisis may erupt should the court rule that the parliament can’t change a Basic Law restraining the court.

The Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) issued a stark warning on Sunday, noting that the IDF, which it characterized as the “People’s Army,” was “at risk of disbanding, leading us towards a weak army and a precarious reality that jeopardizes the regional deterrence equation. All of this is happening amid escalating threats on various fronts. We urgently call for an immediate cessation of unilateral legislation and instead, urge for changes to be pursued through a broad consensus.”

INSS had already warned about the legal reform several months ago but noted now that “the harm to Israel’s national security has become a reality: the intense upheaval that is going through the IDF and is undermining the foundations of the ‘People’s Army.’” This would erode Israel’s deterrence and harm the hi-tech sector that the country relies on, weakening the economy and increasing divisions in society.

Surveys show that the IDF is the most trusted institution in Israel, with around 90 percent of Jewish Israelis responding that they trust it, according to Israel Democracy Institute surveys. This is in part due to other institutions suffering an erosion in trust over the last decades.

It remains to be seen if the protests will continue when the Knesset goes on recess from July 30 to Oct.15.  It also is unclear if those who said they will end their voluntary service will actually follow-through. But if protests do continue, it is expected they may spread to other sectors, such as members of the health system.