IDF: 688 reservists running in municipal elections ‘most likely’ can’t be released
Discussions continue on whether to again postpone elections, originally scheduled for October 31; Smotrich: ‘Numbers leave no room for doubt… I hope the government will postpone’
A total of 688 reservists who are candidates in the nationwide municipal elections scheduled for the end of January will “most likely” not be able to be released from duty to run for office, the IDF told the government on Friday.
There are almost 4,000 reserve soldiers who are candidates in the municipal elections, but after examining the request to release them by the end of January, the IDF found that of the 1,829 active reserve soldiers, only 1,141 of them would be able to be released from operational duty.
The 688 reservists whose roles in the army were deemed crucial represented 144 municipalities, the IDF noted.
The IDF does not allow for soldiers or reservists who are actively serving to engage in political campaigns and so those who cannot be released will not be able to stand for election.
The IDF statement said that it was not taking a position on the election date, but rather providing an assessment in response to an official request.
The municipal elections were originally scheduled for October 31 but were postponed in light of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, which erupted on October 7 when some 3,000 Hamas terrorists burst through the border, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping over 240, mostly civilians.
Over 360,000 Israelis were called up for reserve duty in the wake of the unprecedented assault, as Israel launched a wide-scale military campaign aimed at eliminating the terror group in Gaza, as well as protecting the northern border from the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has for weeks been calling to postpone the elections, reacted quickly on Friday to the IDF announcement, saying that “the numbers leave no room for doubt. Reservists who are running for office in 144 municipalities are needed for the war effort and won’t be able to be released to participate.”
“I call on the Likud ministers and the government to put the reserve soldiers front and center,” he urged. “I very much hope that common sense will prevail over petty politics and that the government will postpone the elections.”
On Tuesday, Smotrich had called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convene a meeting of coalition leaders to decide on the issue.
“First, this is no time for politics. This is the time for unity. Second, elections that take place during fighting harm the [prospects of] reserve officers who are competing for office,” he wrote to the prime minister.
Smotrich had also cited an Israel Hayom report Monday that said the military was unable to facilitate voting for soldiers amid the war.
However, both the Interior Ministry and IDF, in a response to the report, said they would be able to hold the elections as currently scheduled.
Additionally, four reserve IDF officers have filed a petition to the High Court of Justice requesting that it order Interior Minister Moshe Arbel to postpone the municipal elections. The petition requested that the elections be postponed for at least several months or until combat operations have ended.
Jeremy Sharon and Michael Horovitz contributed to this report.
