Israeli Air Force scrambles to prevent mass service refusal by reservists: Report

By Zein Khail

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Air Force commanders are racing to prevent hundreds of reservists from refusing service in protest of government decisions such as the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, the state-run Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported Tuesday.

Air Force Commander Tomer Bar has held talks in recent days with senior officers to quash a letter from pilots threatening to halt military service, the authority said.

On Monday, Bar met with former Air Force leaders to address the issue, with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir joining part of the discussion, the report noted.

Over the past few days, reservists drafted a letter urging a boycott of reserve duty in air squadrons, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.

Channel 12 reported that the military is working to stop hundreds of Air Force reservists from organizing a refusal, driven by fears over the government’s push to oust Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, which they say threatens constitutional balance.

“Hundreds have already signed a warning document, all reservists from various Air Force branches,” Channel 12 added.

The protest letter was slated for release Monday, a day before the Supreme Court’s hearing on opposition petitions against Bar’s dismissal, but the military stifled its publication through dialogue with Air Force reservists, the channel reported.

Later Tuesday, the Supreme Court, Israel’s top judicial body, delayed its ruling on Bar’s dismissal, giving the government and Baharav-Miara until Passover’s end—April 19—to reach a consensus.

On March 23, the Cabinet unanimously voted no confidence in Baharav-Miara, launching her removal process over her opposition to policies curbing judicial power.

Separately, on March 19, the military discharged two reservists—one from military intelligence and the other an Air Force navigator—for refusing to fight in Gaza after combat resumed. Alon Gur, 43, a combat navigator and leadership institute head, announced his decision to end reserve service on social media.

Michael Mayer, from military intelligence, went further, calling Cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “dirty traitors” in an X post.

“Protecting my people now means refusing to fight for a bunch of filthy traitors, against Israel’s interests,” it said.

Protests have gripped Israel for weeks, decrying Netanyahu’s recent dismissal moves and the renewed Gaza war, which demonstrators say endangers Israeli hostages’ lives.

The Israeli army renewed a deadly assault on Gaza on March 18 and has since killed nearly 1,400 people, injured over 3,400 others and shattered a January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in the enclave.

Last week, Netanyahu vowed to escalate attacks on Gaza as efforts are underway to implement US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from the enclave.

Over 50,800 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.