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Israeli military faces democratic dilemma
Reservists in the Israeli military have threatened not to show up for training and refuse to participate in operations if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proceeds with plans to overhaul the country's judiciary.
This move has practical military implications, especially as the reservists in question are central to the ongoing operations of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Syria and elsewhere along Israel's borders. However, as long as the fight over the reform rages on, the possibility for future dissent persists.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Israeli army reservists threaten not to serve if judicial overhaul passes <a href="https://t.co/zXeFreWgsX">https://t.co/zXeFreWgsX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/news?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#news</a></p>— Global News Aggregate (@AggregateGlobal) <a href="https://twitter.com/AggregateGlobal/status/1639816322551889920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The proposed measures would effectively muzzle the Israeli Supreme Court's oversight of the government and the laws it passes. A large cross-section of society believes that the government's planned overhaul represents an existential threat to Israeli democracy. Israel's military service is considered a civic duty and a rite of passage.
Reservists play a unique role in the country's military and society, and the dissent of the reservists is of profound symbolic importance. Their threat to refuse service carries massive symbolic weight, to say nothing of the national security implications of fighter jets sitting idle or of members of the special forces declining missions.
The tension between a military's subservience to civilian authority and its obligation to uphold democracy is not unique to the Israeli military. Military personnel around the world face a similar predicament whenever political leaders threaten to erode democratic values and institutions. The outcome of the current showdown, and the IDF's role in it, matters far beyond Israel.
The significance of dissent among Israel's military reserves is hard to overstate. In practice, only a fraction of Israelis take part in regular reserve training and missions, but those who do are central to the IDF's ability to function. Israel's standing military is relatively small, so reservists are indispensable for filling the ranks in the event of a large-scale war. The recent turmoil is without precedent. Past protests were relatively small; this time, the dissenter’s number is in the thousands and is far more organized. In some cases, the threatened strike could cripple entire units.
Netanyahu's assault on the judiciary challenges the basic tenets of the service reservists have agreed to provide. While the government would typically condemn undue military meddling in civilian affairs, the present circumstances complicate that assessment.
Netanyahu's plans to overhaul the judiciary are seen by many as violating the social compact under which reservists agreed to serve. As the mediation initiative led by Israeli President Isaac Herzog has made little progress in resolving the dispute, tensions over the overhaul have not abated, and the possibility for future dissent persists.
