Israeli military 'cohesion' at risk, says former security official amid national protests

At least 10,000 military reservists say they will suspend service in protest at judicial overhaul plan

Israeli military reservists shout during a protest near the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on July 19. Reuters

Israel’s armed forces are facing an unprecedented crisis that threatens their “fundamental cohesion,” a former Israeli government defence adviser and academic told The National on Friday.

An estimated 10,000 military reservists, including elite soldiers and pilots, have said they will suspend their service in protest at a judicial overhaul pushed for by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Former deputy national security adviser Chuck Freilich said the resulting harm to military morale and disruption from potential personnel shortages were “severe threats to the Israeli Defence Forces”.

Mr Freilich, a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, now teaches political science at Tel Aviv University and Columbia University in the US.

Mr Netanyahu’s ambition to sharply curtail the influence of the supreme court and change the composition of its selection panel has become one of the most divisive issues in Israel in decades.

It has led to seven months of the largest protests in the country’s history, as well as industrial action in important sectors.

But it is the threat to withhold service by a growing number of personnel in a reserve force of around 400,000 that has shaken the military establishment.

Around three years of national military service is compulsory in Israel and, upon completion, service members become reservists and can be called back to duty, usually until their early forties, depending upon their rank and other factors.

Military caught in political row

On Friday, the split within the military prompted a warning from Maj Gen Tomer Bar, the Israeli air force chief, who said Israel’s enemies – including Iran and its powerful allied Lebanese militia Hezbollah and Hamas in the Gaza strip, could exploit the signs of internal military division.

The reservists’ suspension of service began in the spring, several months into nationwide protests as it became clear Mr Netanyahu would not back down from his plans. Israeli army chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzl Halevi warned in March that the armed forces “cannot function” without the reservists, after a number of pilots said they were joining the protests.

Several former intelligence chiefs, including two former Mossad heads and the former head of Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, have also given interviews and written articles in support of the reservists suspending duty.

Yossi Cohen, former Mossad chief and Mr Netanyahu's national security adviser, also said last week that the judicial overhaul should be suspended to ensure “Israel's security resilience remains uncompromised”.

Asked what would be a more serious threat to the Israeli armed forces, damage to morale, or disruption caused by the risk of personnel shortages, Mr Freilich said “both are severe threats,” and the military had “never before” faced such a crisis.

“Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas have already met this week to discuss how to take advantage of the situation. Gloating among leadership, and in public statements,” he told The National.

Senior Israeli military staff in recent weeks have repeated calls to maintain loyalty to the armed forces, despite political differences.

Mr Freilich said that Israel’s military had suffered blows to morale in the past, including in the aftermath of the 1973 war.

The conflict, which began with a surprise attack by Egyptian and Syrian forces was ultimately an Israeli army victory, but dealt a blow to the country’s morale after the army and air force suffered heavy losses to newly equipped opponents in its opening days.

The army has suffered “some losses of confidence in the past maybe, especially after the war, but this is unprecedented”, Mr Freilich said.

“There was never a question of the IDF 's fundamental cohesion.”

Supporters of Mr Netanyahu's plan say the judicial overhaul will strengthen Israeli democracy by removing the power of the supreme court to overturn decisions of elected officials.

But detractors say it will end the court's vital check on executive power and could lead to the government being able to take extreme measures, such as banning political parties, or altering how elections are held, with little oversight.