Katz orders Democrats party candidate removed from IDF reserves over call to refuse service in anti-government protest

Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to remove reservist Omri Ronen, a member of the Brothers in Arms movement and of Yair Golan’s Democrats party, from any reserve duty after he encouraged refusal to serve on political grounds, according to a statement issued by the Defense Ministry.

Ronen, an officer in the elite Maglan unit who served more than 350 days of reserve duty since October 7, 2023, told Channel 12 yesterday that Israelis should “do everything to prevent a coup d’état… including refusing to report” for military service.

The ministry says Katz views such statements by serving reservists “with great severity” and reiterates his policy that there is “no place in the reserve forces” for anyone who explicitly or implicitly calls for refusal to serve or incites against military service.

In a statement, Katz declares “zero tolerance” for refusal to serve, saying he has instructed Zamir to ensure Ronen is removed “from any framework of service in the IDF.”

“I will not allow the scourge of refusal to return to the ranks of the IDF – for any reason,” Katz says, adding that the same policy will apply in any similar future case and insisting the military “must remain outside political disputes and only serve Israel’s security.”

In the months leading up to the multifront war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack, leaders of Brothers in Arms announced that some 10,000 reservists would suspend their volunteer reserve duty in protest of the government’s plans at the time to overhaul the judicial system, referred to by critics as an attempted judicial coup.

Despite the threat, the IDF experienced an unprecedented 120% turnout rate for reservists on October 7, 2023.