President Isaac Herzog warned Thursday that threats of refusal to serve by military personnel were undermining the country, as protest activity against the government’s judicial overhaul plan appeared to ramp up once again.
Herzog spoke at a pilot graduation ceremony at Hatzerim Air Force base in southern Israel, where some attendants turned their backs as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke.
The president stressed that the right to demonstrate was “a basic, inalienable right in any democracy.” but said threats to refuse security service were particularly grave as they could threaten national unity and bolster Israel’s enemies.
“But threats to refuse to volunteer have no place because they pull the rug out from under all of us, and weaken our defensive resilience and societal unity,” he said.
Reservists have ramped up threats in recent days to refuse to show up for duty, as the government advances its plans to overhaul the judicial system.
Earlier this year, vows by Air Force reservists not to volunteer for duty were seen as putting particular pressure on the government to halt its legislative blitz.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told graduating pilots that he trusts they will always answer when duty calls.
“You are finishing this course today, after a long and complex training period. You are taking off on missions for the next 30 years, during which you will fly in the standing army, and in reserves, and I know that you will always show up when called upon to defend the country. This is the principle on which the IDF was founded,” Halevi said.
At the same event, Netanyahu was met with silent protests by members of the crowd opposed to his government’s effort to shake up the justice system, as they rose and turned to face away from him. The military had asked participants not to bring signs or shout out political slogans.
Netanyahu also noted the threats by reservists to refuse to show up for duty in his speech.
“We must all come together to defend our country. There is and will be no room for refusal, neither on this side nor on any other side,” he said.
Protests against members of the government have become an almost daily occurrence at public events, and some private ones as well. The demonstrations often including loud heckling, which has led some officials to avoid and cancel public speaking engagements — including Netanyahu himself at the height of the protests earlier this year. Demonstrations are also regularly held outside the homes of coalition members.
On Thursday morning, Netanyahu chaired a meeting to discuss potential limitations to protests outside politicians’ homes, drawing criticism from the opposition, which compared it to repressive policies undemocratic regimes.
On Thursday evening, demonstrators who had been holding a rally outside the home of Likud MK Boaz Bismuth in Ramat Gan also blocked Tel Aviv’s central Ayalon highway for some 30 minutes as traffic was at a peak.
Bismuth earlier this week vowed to push forward the contentious legislation “step by step.”
בשיא העומס ובהפתעה: כמה מפגינים חסמו את נתיבי איילון במחלף ההלכה@yonatanraveh11 (צילום: שב"פ) pic.twitter.com/QCng7F33eQ
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 29, 2023
Demonstrations against the effort to remake the judicial system have gathered renewed steam over the past week as Likud has renewed its legislative push.
On Tuesday, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice convened for additional deliberations on a bill to block justices from exercising judicial review over the “reasonableness” of government decisions. Coalition figures have vowed to pass such legislation before the Knesset summer recess in a month. And Netanyahu has stated his government will also move later on to reshape the powerful Judicial Selection Committee, though he has added this will take a different shape than Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s previous plan to assert full political control over the process.
While protesters somewhat lowered the flames over the past few months while the judicial overhaul legislation was paused, organizers said that now that the government has begun moving ahead in the Knesset with certain elements of the plan, they will renew efforts.
At a press conference on Tuesday, prominent protest leaders said they plan to blockade the Ben Gurion Airport on Monday, and will weigh other actions moving forward. Shikma Bressler, one of the organizers, said that mass national “days of disruptions” previously held weekly could now become a daily event.
With schools finishing for the year at the end of this week, the airport is expected to see increased traffic next week, as families head out for summer vacations.
Netanyahu was also heckled at a separate event on Thursday, this time by the family of Hadar Goldin, a slain Israeli soldier whose body has been held by the Hamas terror group in Gaza since 2014. The protest came as he attended a ceremony marking nine years since Operation Protective Edge, in which Goldin and fellow soldier Oron Shaul were killed and their bodies taken.
איילת גולדין התפרצה לעבר ראש הממשלה נתניהו בסיום הטקס: ״תסתכל לי בעיניים לאחות שכולה תשע שנים. אל תפנה לי גב. מה יש לי בקבר ציצית מגואלת בדם? pic.twitter.com/xlScOXcE1m
— Haim Goldich | חיים גולדיטש (@HGoldich) June 29, 2023
The Goldins have railed against successive governments for not doing enough in their eyes to bring back their son’s remains. Repeated efforts to reach a deal with Hamas for a swap of the bodies, alongside two Israeli citizens held by the group after they entered Gaza of their own accord, have so far had no results. Hamas has reportedly demanded exorbitant costs for the Israelis’ return. The Goldins have often argued the government should put the screws on all of Gaza and refuse the enclave humanitarian aid and goods so long as a swap is not made.
As Netanyahu left the ceremony, Goldin’s mother Leah shouted at him: “Do you want me to set myself on fire? …I’ll set myself on fire, I’m not afraid.”
Goldin’s sister Ayelet also screamed at the premier as he departed: “Look a bereaved sister in the eyes! Nine years and what do we have in the grave? Tzitzit and a uniform covered in blood.”
“Don’t turn your back on me. My beautiful, complete brother is wallowing in Gaza and you know exactly where. You are to blame. You carry the responsibility… You forsake soldiers and civilians.”
Netanyahu did not respond to the family’s calls.
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