A day after reserve airmen in the Israeli Airforce's 69th Squadron announced they would not show up for part of their call-up duty to protest the government's judicial reform bills, prompting harsh insults on social media, Israel Hayom has learned of a similar move currently being considered in additional airforce units.
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According to Israel Hayom sources, reservists who are affiliated with two Israel Air Force squadrons – one in the Ramat David base in northern Israel and the other in the Tel Nof base in the center of the country – have explored the possibility of not showing up for part or all the routine training days if and when they are called up. One source said that the instant messaging forums in which the reservists have communicated, primarily on WhatsApp, have been consumed by this topic. "Each squadron has its own dynamic," the sources said.
Meanwhile, 10 former IAF chiefs called on the government to change course in the wake of the controversial legal overhaul, publishing an open letter warning that the continued political crisis could pose a "grave danger to Israel's security" because of its impact on society and the collective sense of solidarity.
"We have been following the ongoing developments in Israel and in the IAF," they wrote. "With the force playing such a crucial and unique role in our national security, we are deeply concerned over what could unfold and the real danger that this could pose to Israel's national security," the letter continued, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to find a way to heed the protesters' demands. They also showed their support to the reservists and the current IAF chief Tomer Bar, who vowed to protect pilots from being vilified in the media but urged them to show up for duty when called up. "We urge you to stop this and find a solution to the emerging situation as soon as possible," they wrote to Netanyahu.
As Israel's strategic arm, the air force has traditionally relied on reservists in wartime and requires crews who have been discharged to train regularly in order to maintain readiness. But in a letter circulated in local media, the 37 F-15 pilots and navigators from the 69th Squadron said they would skip drills scheduled for Wednesday and instead "devote our time to dialogue and reflection for the sake of democracy and national unity".
Israel Hayom published several days ago the letter written by Bar to the reservists. "We hear your voices, I wholeheartedly say that you are the defenders of the country...I will not help in painting your image in an unfair way," he said. Bar also emphasized this in his letter when he wrote: "Our corps - our home and source of pride - is a strategic component of the strength of the IDF and the national resilience of the State of Israel." But that letter did not stop the reservists from announcing their protest in a separate letter on Sunday.
Weekly and increasingly raucous demonstrations have swept the country, with some protest leaders – among them former military chiefs – saying that a non-democratic turn in government would warrant mass-disobedience within the ranks. The 37 air force reservists said they would suspend their one-day protest if required to carry out actual operations.
A military spokesperson declined to comment on their letter but said top commander Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevy "is aware of the public discourse and division but will not allow any harm to the IDF's (Israel Defence Forces) ability to carry out its most important mission – defend(ing) Israel's security".
Officers had been instructed to speak with subordinates on the issue, said the statement, which also reiterated the "importance of maintaining the IDF's impartiality". Israel does not publish military personnel figures, making it hard to judge to impact of the air force reservists' protest, or of similar pledges by some reservists from other branches.
"These irresponsible Israeli media are playing up any reservist who makes some kind of statement," Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Channel 12 News. "There are tens and hundreds of thousands who will continue to enlist for the military and serve in the reserves and understand that we are brothers and bear responsibility for the great miracle that is the Zionist enterprise."
Netanyahu, a former officer in Israel's most prestigious commando unit, tweeted a photograph of himself at conscription age with the caption: "When called up for reserve duty, we always turn up. We are one nation."
Former IDF Chief of Staff, MK Gadi Eizenkot answered the reservists in the 69th Squadron and asked them to leave the IDF out of the debate: "As a citizen and member of the Knesset, who opposes the legal reform, I urge you to refrain from boycotting the reserves. I understand your great pain and cherish the hundreds of thousands who are fighting for the future of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence... but without the IDF there is no State of Israel. We must keep it out of this important and just struggle."
The force's reserves are an integral part of the IDF, and in fact, serve as the hand of the State of Israel. To maintain operational competence, reserve aircrew members come to the squadrons every week and participate in many operational activities. They reportedly carry out attacks in Syria and are an essential part of any potential attack on Iran.
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