Israeli military reservists at centre of anti-government protests

Tel Aviv, Israel – The voices of dissent from Israeli military veterans and reservists towards the country’s government are getting louder as protests against the “judicial reform” plans continue.

But after protests on Tuesday saw highways blocked, Israel’s military establishment is also pushing back, with army chief Herzl Halevi warning that “anyone who calls for not reporting [for reserve duty] harms” the Israeli forces and “security of the state”.

Military protest group Brothers in Arms was one of the dozens who participated in the second weekly “day of disruption”, in which the voices of ex-soldiers have taken centre stage.

Leading the way are the more than 10,000 reservist soldiers, including members of the elite intelligence unit 8200 and air force pilots, who have signed an online petition to “go to war for the soul of the nation”, threatening to boycott their reservist duty.

Retired army generals who spoke to Al Jazeera disagreed over the scope of the protesters’ harm to the army and its preparedness for a future conflict.

Amiram Levin, a former major-general and commander of the Israeli military’s northern command, insists that “the [reservists] are not threatening anything” and that it is the far right in the government that is “endangering the safety of the state of Israel”.

Army reservists are obligated to serve a set number of days by law until they are at least 40, and are frequently asked to volunteer to serve longer on a less formal basis by their officers. In an emergency, the state can obligate its entire reserve force – numbering 400,000 soldiers – to report for duty.

“If the government betrays [the reservists] and violates agreements, and spits in their faces and endangers the safety of the nation, and sends them on potentially illegal missions in Judea and Samaria [the occupied West Bank] … they say, we will not volunteer, we will do the minimum that the law requires,” said Levin, outlining the protesters’ reasoning.

Levin further explained his view that the potentially negative effect of the reservists’ refusal to serve was a small risk compared with the much greater liability posed by a future in which soldiers served a “dictatorship”.

“The big thing is that an army of a dictator is a putrid army,” said Levin. “It is better to have a slightly less trained army [serving a] a democratic government when people believe in what they are fighting for.”

But, in his view, stopping the current government’s judicial changes is only the first step towards ending the army’s “corrupting” role in enforcing “apartheid policies” in the occupied West Bank.

“You cannot occupy a people as a military for 56 years without corrupting from within,” Levin said.

Right-wing opposition

On the other hand, former head of Israel’s military intelligence division and security expert Yossi Kuperwasser agrees with the block of Israelis who view the protesters as having crossed a red line in “using their army service as a political tool”. A rival petition in the name of reserve soldiers against those who have refused to report for duty has more than 75,000 signatures.

Dan Ezra helped organise the right wing’s “March of a Million” in favour of the judicial changes proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government – which critics say would limit the independence of the judiciary.

Ezra, who continues to serve as a reserve soldier, claimed that many Israelis believe that “their [the dissenting reservists] usage of the green uniform [to make a political point] is illegitimate”.

He shares that “we also wore green and it remains our obligation to defend our homeland and families” – while threats of refusal to serve “only endanger us” and could possibly lead to a civil war.

Occupation or self-defence?

For those on the Israeli left, the issue of the military protests can be complicated, with some opposed to the image of the military as dissenting with the Israeli government and its far-right leanings, particularly when it comes to the military’s dealings with Palestinians, and its active role in carrying out the occupation of the West Bank, as well as numerous operations against the blockaded Gaza Strip.

However, others have actively supported the protests, even if they are critical of the role of the military in dealing with the Palestinians.

Nir A Cohen, who was a platoon commander during Israel’s military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in 2002, expressed the critical view that “what I did [in Jenin] has nothing to do with the security of the State of Israel”.

As opposed to “fighting terrorism”, he recalled “shooting in the air to frighten a group of farmers picking tomatoes and cucumbers” in order to follow orders from his commander to enforce an army curfew on the town.

Cohen’s view is still a minority one among Israeli Jews, with most retaining a reverence for the military, affording the dissenting reservists a measure of legitimacy when challenging the government.

Rafi Laderman, 58, is a reserve major who led troops in Jenin in 2002 and continues to serve well beyond the official age requirement. “My commitment exceeds any politically-disputed situation … [service] is a sacred duty for each and every person who lives in Israel,” Laderman said.

According to Laderman, most Israelis expect that if push comes to shove, “99.9 percent of those saying they are not interested in [reserve duty] … will fight in an emergency situation”.

Even so, the division within Israeli society that is now being seen, even within the ranks of the military, is a clear, yet incalculable risk, with few signs of progress.

“The split between left and right is too deep,” said Ezra. “I no longer believe reconciliation is possible.”