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israel judicial reform
'Unprecedented': Over 1,000 Israeli Air Force Reservists Threaten to Quit Over Judicial Coup
"For decades, we left everything behind and came forward resolutely to defend Israel, and now we find ourselves fighting for democracy."
Jul 21, 2023
More than 1,100 Israeli air force reservists on Friday threatened to not report for duty if the country's far-right government proceeds with a set of highly controversial judicial reforms critics say dangerously erode democracy.
"When we pledged to dedicate our lives to the country, we never thought we would reach a day where the contract between us and the state would be breached," the IAF reservists—who include hundreds of pilots, drone operators, and others—wrote in a letter to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi.
"For decades, we left everything behind and came forward resolutely to defend Israel, and now we find ourselves fighting for democracy," the signers added.
The reservists are joining Israelis in sounding the alarm over a deeply controversial overhaul of the country's legal system critics have condemned as a "judicial coup."
Earlier this month, the far-right governing coalition led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advanced a key component of the reforms—a move to repeal the "reasonableness" standard used by the Israeli Supreme Court to overrule egregious government decisions—amid ongoing nationwide street protests.
"The legislation, which allows the government to act in an extremely unreasonable manner, will harm the security of the state of Israel, will break the trust and violate our consent to continue risking our lives—and will very sadly leave us with no choice but to refrain from volunteering for reserve duty," the reservists wrote.
Haaretzreports the letter's 1,142 signatories include "235 fighter pilots, 98 transport pilots, 89 helicopter pilots, 91 pilots serving in the flight school, and 165 elite air force commandos."
The reservists' threat had been anticipated. On Thursday evening, Netanyahu said in a televised address that "in a democracy, the military is subordinate to the government, and does not compel the government."
"Amending the reasonableness standard will only strengthen democracy, and certainly not endanger it. What will endanger democracy is refusal to serve in the military," the prime minister insisted. "When military figures try to threaten to dictate the government's policies, it is unacceptable in any democracy, and if they manage to make good on their threats, that is the end of democracy."
Military experts warned that if the reservists follow through on their threat, the air force would not be operationally prepared for war.
IAF pilots have previously refused to fly assassination missions and other sorties that could harm civilians—the IDF relies heavily upon its warplanes to bombard Gaza during its periodic assaults on Palestinian resistance, killing many men, women, and children along with militants—but experts say nothing on this scale has ever been reported before.
The air force reservists' move follows the July 11 announcement by hundreds of IDF reservists specializing in cyberwarfare that they will stop reporting for duty over the judicial overhaul.
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'Day of Disruption': Tens of Thousands of Israelis Protest Imminent 'Judicial Coup'
"We are going to show them that the power of the people is stronger than that of the people in power," said one demonstrator.
Jul 11, 2023
At least tens of thousands of Israelis on Tuesday took to the streets, shutting down highways, and marching through the country's main international airport in a "day of disruption" after the nation's far-right governing coalition advanced a deeply controversial overhaul of the legal system critics condemn as a "judicial coup."
Demonstrators thronged the highways leading to cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa, pitching tents, blocking roadways, and hanging banners from overpasses.
At Ben Gurion International Airport near Lod, thousands of protesters defied police warnings and marched through the arrivals hall.
Israeli police said at least 66 people were arrested. Widespread police violence—including spraying water cannons at protesters, charging into crowds on horseback, and an attack on at least one journalist—was recorded and posted on social media.
Ami Eshed, Tel Aviv's police commander, resigned last week due to what he claimed was political interference by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government and its desire to use excessive force to quash the ongoing pro-democracy protests.
"I could have easily met these expectations by using unreasonable force that would have filled up the emergency room... at the end of every protest," Eshed said on Israeli television.
Protesters—some of whom flew in from as far afield as the United States—represented a broad cross-section of Israel's center and left wing; however, Israeli-American journalist Emily Schrader said on Twitter that she "saw dozens of people screaming" at demonstrators opposing the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine "to get out of the protest."
Speaking at a Tel Aviv protest, opposition leader Benny Gantz of the National Unity party said that "ultimately, the protests will block this judicial coup."
Gantz implored police to refrain from violence: "These are not enemies. You don't use this force on citizens."
One protester named Grace told Middle East Eye that she believes "Israel is deteriorating towards complete dictatorship and corruption, and we are trying to stop it. Whatever laws this government doesn't like, it cancels, so all the power goes into government hands and away from the public."
"The message we have for the government is no one here will agree to live in a dictatorship," she added. "We are seeing an extreme government that wants to create an extreme country, and we don't want that to happen. We are going to show them that the power of the people is stronger than that of the people in power."
Hundreds of Israel Defense Forces reservists specializing in cyberwarfare reacted to Monday's parliamentary vote by announcing they will stop reporting for duty.
"We will not continue to develop cyber capabilities for a criminal regime, and we will not train the future generation of offensive cyber," the reservists said in a statement. "Our work cannot continue under such a severe legal and moral cloud."
Hundreds of members of the women-led Bonot Alternativa movement rallied outside the U.S. consulate in Tel Aviv to protest the judicial bill, with another demonstration planned for Tuesday afternoon at the Israeli consulate in New York.
"The Israeli government is destroying Israel as we know it—a Jewish and democratic state—it is harming the independence of the courts... banishing women from the public sphere, and harming our core democracy," Bonot Alternativa said in a plea to U.S. President Joe Biden.
"The members of the 'most extreme' government, as President Biden put it, are attacking freedom of expression, the right to protest, and the rights of women and minorities," the group added. "Don't stand by. Don't let the Jewish state be destroyed."
The White House on Tuesday urged Israeli authorities to respect protesters' rights.
"As the administration has said, both U.S. and Israeli democracy are built on strong institutions, checks and balances, and an independent judiciary," a U.S. National Security Council spokesperson toldHaaretz.
"The president has said consistently, both privately and publicly, that fundamental reforms like this require a broad basis of support to be durable and sustained," the spokesperson added. "The president has been clear he hopes Prime Minister Netanyahu will work to find a genuine compromise."
Tuesday's protests were sparked by Israeli lawmakers' overnight 64-56 vote to provisionally support a key piece of the highly contentious judicial overhaul that would repeal the "reasonableness" standard used by the Supreme Court to overrule egregious government decisions like then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's refusal to fire Cabinet Minister Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, after a 1993 fraud and bribery indictment.
The broader plan, proposed earlier this year by Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin—a member of Netanyahu's Likud party—would allow a 50%+1 parliamentary majority to override rulings issued by the Supreme Court, which also sits as the High Court of Justice and has been accused by human rights groups of giving legal cover to war crimes and crimes against humanity including apartheid and the illegal occupation of Palestine.
The proposed reforms would also increase government control over judicial appointments and make it more difficult for the Supreme Court to annul legislation by requiring the assent of more justices.
Furthermore, Levin's proposal would turn legal advisers who serve government ministries from professional appointees accountable to the attorney general into political appointments controlled by Cabinet ministers.
Critics have accused Netanyahu—who faces multiple criminal corruption charges—of attempting to weaken the judiciary in a bid to boost his chances of dodging prosecution. Netanyahu is prohibited from personal involvement in the judiciary overhaul due to a conflict of interest related to the charges against him.
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'What Color Shirts'? Far-Right Ben-Gvir to Get Control Over Israeli National Guard
The former head of Israel's police accused the national security minister of "dismantling Israeli democracy" and "turning Israel into a dictatorship."
Mar 27, 2023
Democracy defenders on Monday sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's agreement to place the country's National Guard under the control of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right extremist who has advocated the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Netanyahu's move is in exchange for a promise from Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party to remain in the prime minister's governing coalition despite an earlier threat to exit if Netanyahu delayed a highly controversial judicial overhaul. Facing massive street protests and a general strike by the nation's largest trade union, Netanyahu agreed on Monday to postpone the legislation until April or early May.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets Sunday to protest Netanyahu's firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who a day earlier advocated for a monthlong pause to the judicial reform.
"Instead of democracy, Israel doubles down on fascism against Palestinians."
Netanyahu explained in a televised address Monday that he is "not willing to tear the country apart," while asserting that "there must not be civil war."
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said in response to Netanyahu's deal with his security minister: "We already saw what happened when Ben-Gvir wanted to suppress the protests, now one can only imagine what will happen when he has his own militias."
ACRI continued:
It is important to understand—the "National Guard" that Netanyahu promised is a private armed militia that will answer directly to Ben-Gvir. This is a police unit intended first and foremost to act in mixed cities, first and foremost against the Arab population. Such power in Ben-Gvir's hands = certain violation of Arabs' rights. Advancing such a proposal will also enable him to use these forces against the protests and demonstrators.
This is a new and dangerous addition to the coup d'état that we are witnessing. As if it is not enough to act against the judicial system, now we see operative steps to take authorities from the police and turn them into Ben-Gvir's Revolutionary Guards.
"The National Guard must be under the police rather than under the control of Lehava and the rest of the Kahanists," asserted Gilad Kariv, a member of Israel's parliament representing the center-left Israeli Labor Party, as he referenced the far-right Jewish supremacist political group and followers of Meir Kahane, the Orthodox rabbi convicted of terrorism before being assassinated in 1990.
For progressive critics, the idea of Ben-Gvir having a military unit under his direct control presents a frightening prospect.
Ben-Gvir was convicted in 2007 of incitement to racism and supporting the Kahanist terror group Kach after he advocated the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. He is also an open admirer of Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish supremacist who murdered 29 Palestinian worshippers at a mosque in the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.
Moshe Karadi, former general commissioner of the Israel Police, told the Times of Israel that Ben-Gvir "has formed a private militia for his political needs."
"He's dismantling Israeli democracy" and "turning Israel into a dictatorship," Karadi added.
Currently a unit within the Israel Border Police, the National Guard was established under the previous Israeli government amid rising Palestinian resistance and in the wake of the 2021 military assault on Gaza.
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