Gallant pleads with reservists not to refuse duty, says they’re crucial to defend state
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the defense establishment needs reservists in order to deal with threats facing Israel, as many members of the reserve military have threatened to end their volunteer duty in protest of the judicial overhaul.
Speaking at an event commemorating 75 years since the sailing of the immigrant ship Exodus, Gallant says he wants “to appeal to the reservists.”
“We are allowed to disagree, we are allowed to debate and discuss, we are allowed to protest, but we are not allowed to harm, in the name of one political opinion or another, the IDF,” he says.
“As someone who spent most of his adult years in command of troops from all segments of Israeli society, and as someone who knows the current [security] situation, I can say clearly that in the effort to protect the security of the state and in the face of the threats facing us, we need all the soldiers and all the commanders,” Gallant says.
“Just as the company commander and the battalion commander need all the soldiers in the company and battalion, so do I, as the defense minister of Israel, need the entire IDF, the entire Shin Bet, the entire Mossad, all the people they have, from all parts of the public, in order to succeed in the complex mission of protecting the State of Israel and the lives of its citizens,” he continues.
Gallant says the military must be kept “united” and not allow “extreme statements from any side” to harm the IDF.