Katz bars promotion of senior IDF reserves officer involved in Brothers in Arms protest group

Defense Minister Israel Katz says he will not approve the promotion of a senior reserves officer who was on a list of appointments announced by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir last night, citing his involvement in the Brothers in Arms protest group.

Col. (res.) German Giltman, who retired from the IDF in 2022, was set to be promoted to brigadier general and return to the military to serve in a senior role in the Ground Forces.

After being released from the IDF, Giltman participated in a press conference of Brothers in Arms, a group made up of reserve soldiers that played a key role in mass protests against the government’s judicial overhaul plans in 2023.

At the conference in March 2023, Giltman said: “I have served until today, both in active duty and in the reserves, because of an unwritten contract with the state. I am not willing to serve in a place that is not a democracy. You are putting us in a dilemma.”

“Whoever advocates refusal will not serve in the IDF,” Katz says in a statement this morning.

The defense minister says he informed Zamir that he “categorically rejects” the promotion and appointment of Giltman, who he describes as “one of the leaders of Brothers in Arms, who called for refusal to serve in the IDF.”

“Anyone who preaches or encourages refusal will not serve in the IDF and will not be promoted to any position,” Katz adds.