People in the crowd at a pilots graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim Air Force base in southern Israel turn their backs as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks.
The military had asked participants not to bring signs or otherwise shout political statements, amid ongoing disputes over the government’s planned judicial overhaul.
Yesterday at a ceremony for graduating IDF cadets, some in the crowd turned their backs when Netanyahu spoke.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells the graduating pilots that Israel will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“Iran has reached an advanced stage in the development of its nuclear program. We will not allow nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran,” Gallant says.
“We will not put up with the Iranians’ attempts to expand into our region. We will act against them, defeat them and return Iran to its natural place, thousands of kilometers east of the State of Israel,” he adds, referring to Iran’s terror proxies across the Middle East.
President Isaac Herzog says reservists have the right to protest the government’s judicial overhaul, but says refusing to show up for duty cannot be accepted.
“The right to protest is a basic right in any democratic state, including in Israel,” Herzog says at the ceremony.
“But threats to refuse have no place, they weaken our security resilience,” Herzog adds.
Reservists have ramped up threats in recent days to refuse to show up for duty, as the government advances its plans to overhaul the judicial system.
