Air force head laments criticism of military: ‘Painful gap between words and reality’

Israeli Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar on Sunday decried recent verbal attacks on members of the military, in an apparent reference to coalition lawmakers’ criticism of reservists who have said they will no longer volunteer for service as the government advances its judicial overhaul.

“I know how painful the gap is between what is said these days about us, the wearers of the uniform, and who we really are,” Bar said at a ceremony at the Tel Nof base.

“I ask you to look around at everyone who is here today. This is the true reality!” he said. “Let’s not forget that most of the people cherish our work and thank us. Let’s not forget that the path is clear to us, as well as its righteousness.”

“All of us are working tirelessly these days to talk, to listen, to preserve the great and special cohesion of the corps,” he said.

“I salute all those who serve in our wonderful army in regular service and the reserves… we are doing the right, the just and the proper thing,” he said.

“We operate according to a moral compass, which is rooted in the air force’s DNA from the day it was established,” he said.

“We will continue to defend the State of Israel — from the air and on the ground — in the spirit of the mission that always accompanies us, professionally and without compromise, while ignoring the bad spirits who intend to brand us with abject irresponsibility,” he said.

Senior coalition lawmakers lashed out last month after over 1,000 members of the Israeli Air Force announced that they would be halting their volunteer reserve duty in protest of the government’s effort to radically overhaul the judiciary, saying their protest was tantamount to an attempted military coup.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was said to have told confidants that Israel can survive “without a few squadrons.”

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich penned an open letter to the IAF protesters, who include over 400 pilots, in which he urged them to retract their “error” that risks seriously harming the country.

Smotrich declared, “A country that submits to the threats of generals will in fact be a country ruled by a military junta.”

Other coalition lawmakers employed far more combative language against the pilots as they asserted that the government would not allow itself to be “held hostage” by the reservists, and would continue with the controversial package of legislation to significantly curb the judiciary’s power.

As the government advanced the first major bill of its judicial overhaul, more than 10,000 reservists who frequently show up for duty on a voluntary basis said they would no longer do so.

The reservists warned they would not be able to serve in an undemocratic Israel, which some charge the country will become if the government’s overhaul plans are realized.

The IDF relies heavily on volunteering reservists, especially pilots, for its routine activities.

Defense officials have said pilots could harm their competency by taking breaks from their frequent training exercises, and it would take a significant amount of time to restore their flying abilities.

Last month, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned at a closed-door meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that national tensions over the government’s controversial judicial overhaul plans could harm Israel’s security, amid heightened tensions on all fronts.

According to a spokesperson for the committee, Gallant said that “there is harm to national resilience that may lead to harm to national security.”

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.