Defense Minister Yoav Gallant criticized Tuesday renewed calls by military reservists to refuse to show up for duty in protest of the government's plans to reform the judiciary.
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Speaking at the 146th Reserve Armored Division, marking 50 years since the Yom Kippur War, Gallant said, "The strength of the IDF rested then and rests today on the unity of its ranks. Even today, the key to success in our missions lies in the unity of our ranks.
Video: Gallant speaking at the at the 146th Reserve Armored Division (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
"Calls that are being heard these days encouraging refusal and halting the volunteering of reservists threaten the unity of the ranks, are dangerous, and are a reward for our enemy.
"Refusal harms the IDF. Refusal harms the defense establishment. Refusal harms Israel's security. We must all condemn refusal or calls for refusal, and remember very well that we all have one destiny, we are brothers, and the IDF belongs to us all," he said and called on both right- and left-wing public figures to "leave politics out of the military."
Hundreds of retired army pilots expressed support for the reservists, saying in a letter that they fully backed their "every action." Signatories include former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, former Commander in Chief of the Israel Air Force Lt. Gen. Avihu Ben-Nun, as well as other former high-ranking military officials.
Similarly, 300 reservists in cyberwarfare units too threatened on Tuesday to skip out on volunteer reserve duty.
"The Netanyahu government proved today that it is bent on crushing the State of Israel. Passing the law to cancel the reasonableness clause is the first step in the transformation of the State of Israel into a corrupt, backward, and weak state," the letter said. "Therefore, we ... are immediately withdrawing from our voluntary reserve service. We will not develop capabilities for a criminal regime, and we will not assist in training the future generation of cyber" fighters.
Earlier on Tuesday, police arrested 71 people who participated in protests and violated public order as thousands of opponents of the government's judicial reform initiative blocked highways and interchanges across the country after the Knesset voted overnight to advance key legislation.
The "Day of Resistance" saw marches, demonstrations and convoys to highways in and around Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, the Binyamin region, and Ben-Gurion International Airport as well as outside the President's Residence in Jerusalem and the US embassy branch in Tel Aviv.
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee convened on Tuesday to prepare for the second and third plenum votes a bill to restrict the use of the "reasonableness" standard by the Supreme Court. This comes after the parliament overnight Monday passed the bill in first reading. Monday's vote was taken along partisan lines, 64-56.
The legislation would bar "reasonableness" as a legal justification for judges to reverse decisions made by the Cabinet, ministers and "other elected officials as set by law."
Critics of the clause say the standard is legally vague and has been used by the Supreme Court to encroach upon the government's authority. Opponents of the reform say the bill will erode Israel's system of checks and balances and lead to an abuse of power.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
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