IDF says aware of hundreds of reservists refusing to show up, expects more

By Emanuel Fabian

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19 July 2023, 8:19 pm

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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Members of the Brothers in Arms protest group demonstrate against the government's planned judicial overhaul, outside the home of Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana in Tel Aviv, on June 6, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Israel Defense Forces says it knows of several hundred reservists who have announced that they will no longer show up for volunteer reserve duty in protest of the judicial overhaul.

The military says that it is maintaining its readiness at this stage, but expects more reservists, including pilots, to announce similar moves.

The majority of the reservists who have said that they will no longer show up for volunteer duty are part of the Air Force, though not all of them are pilots.

Army officials are constantly conducting assessments on the current situation, focused largely on the “cohesion” or unity, within the military, which is expected to take a hit amid the protests.