1,000 ex-Air Force officials pen letter: ‘The democratic State of Israel is in danger’

More than 1,000 former senior Israel Air Force personnel issue a letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut and other top legal officials, warning against Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming right-wing and religious government.

“We were all ready to sacrifice our lives for the country throughout our years as combat pilots. Even after serving in the Air Force, we continued to take part in building the state to the best of our ability,” the 1,197 officials write in the letter.

“We come from all levels of society and the political spectrum… but what we all have in common today is the fear that the democratic state of Israel is in danger,” they write.

“You are the last line of defense and it is in your hands to stop the process of destroying democracy,” the officials tell Hayut, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik, and the rest of Israel’s legal system.

“The State of Israel, which was established as a Jewish and democratic state, will not be able to exist as declared by the declaration of independence, if it gives up its identity as a liberal democracy,” they add.

Among the signatories is former IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz.