Troubling tensions have surfaced recently between Israel’s political leadership and the heads of the security establishment, mainly regarding the operational fitness of the IDF in light of the measures taken by senior reservist officers, particularly in the Air Force. Such tensions are not new, but in the context of the profound existing socio-political crisis, the fact that they have penetrated the discourse among those who are responsible for national security severely harms their trust toward one another, and that of the public in...
The mandate of the Israel Defense Forces is to defend the state from security threats, and Israel’s military is necessarily and unequivocally subordinate to the legally elected political echelon. The IDF is not meant to be the protector of democracy; that is not its role. Reservist officers, no matter how senior and talented they may be, are not constitutional scholars and are not authorized – by virtue of Israel’s nonexistent constitution or by the Basic Law: The Military – to defend Israel’s democratic regime. Those anxious for the...
The protest by the reserve soldiers and the crisis confronting the IDF is examined here from three angles: non-volunteering, containment of the protest, and the conscription law. Even if the protest has ostensibly calmed down, the threat of non-volunteering for reserve service remains and is expected to resurface if, within the framework of the proposed judicial overhaul, the legislation on changes to the composition of the judicial selection committee moves forward in the Knesset, or if the conscription bill, in one version or...
No one can ignore the tremendous impact of the protest by IDF reservists on the public debate on military resilience, and, finally, on the (to date, temporary) suspension of the legislative processes spearheaded by the government. One of the prominent moments in the protests by reservists was the announcement by dozens of pilots that although they would report for operational duty, they would stop reporting for training exercises. Similar letters by officers from other units followed. Frequent reports named yet another unit joining...
The government’s proposed judicial overhaul, which looks increasingly like a recipe for a regime coup, has aroused much opposition. The most important of these critical voices came from officers in the reserve corps, who linked their continued service in the reserves with the democratic nature of the State of Israel. In response, a counterargument was raised, claiming that any such linkage is a political expression, which, in accordance with the apolitical nature of the IDF, is not valid. The purpose of this article is to refute this...
If I am put in a position of being asked to execute something I feel is immoral, unethical, or illegal, I believe I have only one option, and that is to make my point extremely forcefully and then, if I am unable to reconcile that difference simply to resign.[1]
Admiral Stansfield Turner, former head of the CIA
Leading a security establishment demands strength and the ability to withstand various types of significant pressure. One such pressure is the need to remain in office even in difficult circumstances, in order to ensure...
The threat by reservists to refuse to volunteer – which is cast by the political leadership, large portions of the public, and even some among those serving in the IDF as tantamount to insubordination – represents nothing less than a sea change. The IDF, against the wishes and not at the instigation of the top military leadership, but specifically because of the mishandling of developments within the military due to the political crisis, has become a political actor. Moreover, the threat of refusing to serve has proven to be of much...
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Israel is facing an ominous combination of severe threats to its national security, widening rifts in its relations with the US, and increasing economic risks amid the global economic crisis. At the same time, Israeli society is in the midst of an unprecedented internal conflict stemming from the proposed judicial reform, which magnifies these threats and impairs our ability to tackle them. Without dwelling on the controversial contents of the reform, this much is clear: the...
The internal crisis and the widespread protests in Israel, together with the escalation of Palestinian terror, reinforce Nasrallah’s perception that Israel’s internal weakness is overwhelming, and persuade him of Hezbollah’s ability to deter and confront Israel in the event of a military conflict. Invoking his previous spider web metaphor regarding Israeli society, he declares that Israel is on the brink of a civil war and that the state is approaching its end. This perception also underlay the dispute with Israel over the agreement...
The State of Israel is now engulfed in an unprecedented and perilous set of circumstances. While Iran is on the nuclear threshold and the Palestinian arena is on the brink of wide escalation, Israel itself is racing toward the brink of passing fateful legislation that would reshape its governing system. Israel’s enemies watch with satisfaction, drawing confidence and daring toward new levels of brinksmanship, which could easily lead to escalation and possibly war. For Israel to cross the legislative threshold from the current reality...
