Israeli elite reservist soldiers, including those in Special Operations and cyber warfare units, have stopped showing up for voluntary duty to protest the government’s plans to alter the judicial system.
Reservist soldiers from elite units of the Israeli Defense Forces have ceased their voluntary service as a response to the Israeli government’s plans to change the judicial system. Organizers of the group, including 450 officers and soldiers in the Military Intelligence’s Special Operations Division and 200 in cyber warfare units, have announced that they will stop showing up for volunteer duty until democracy is safe. They cited the government’s plans to hold final Knesset votes on legislation that would severely limit courts or lawmakers from removing an unfit prime minister from office. Calls among IDF reservists to refuse to serve due to the government’s legislative efforts have roiled the military. In recent weeks, growing in number even as they are condemned by senior politicians in both the opposition and the coalition.
