Israel reserves will stop volunteer service in protest against judicial overhaul

Dozens of Israeli reserve officers and soldiers yesterday warned that they would stop volunteering for service in protest against the resumption of judicial overhaul measures, Arab48 reported.

This came following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to “go all the way” and unilaterally push through the coalition’s bill to broadly outlaw judicial review of the “reasonableness” of government or ministerial decisions.

Netanyahu made the decision after meeting with Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem, who also serves as a minister within the Justice Ministry, yesterday.

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The judicial review will make way for the appointment of ministers regardless of their criminal past , similar to what happened with Shas leader Aryeh Deri, who has previously been sacked by the High Court.

In a statement, the retired soldiers and officers of Unit 8200, the Intelligence Corps unit of the Israeli occupation army, said: “In this way, they reinforce an authoritarian approach.”

The statement added that the resumption of the judicial overhaul plan would lead to migration of minds from Israel.

Meanwhile, the reserve unit of the Special Israeli Army said that the Knesset resumed the “dictatorship legislations,” which, they said, “will end democracy in Israel and allow the government to pass any law or make any appointment.”

The statement also said that “without democracy, there will not be an army or security. This will mark the end of the state of Israel. Therefore, we will forcefully defend democracy with our souls and bodies.”

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