Refusal to serve in the Israel Defense Forces reserves in an era of anti-democratic judicial reform

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Israel, most citizens are obligated to serve in the military for a mandatory period and subsequently in the reserve forces for about 21–45 days per year up to the age of 44. Many veterans continue to serve in the reserves for even longer periods. However, uncharacteristically, during 2023, reservists were linked to the social protest in Israel. The ever-widening public protest in Israel was unprecedented. Every Saturday night, from January 2023 until the War of October 7th began, 5–10% of the Israeli population headed out to demonstrate in the streets of various cities and regions against the anti-democratic legislation that was under consideration or had been passed. Among the protesters were many citizens serving in the reserve forces. These opponents of government policy voiced their protest, saying loud and clear that if the legislation continued, they would not serve, unless a war would erupt; indeed, many of them had already quit the reserves only to rejoin when the October War started. And thus, without intending to do so, the army has become a political player in the political struggle currently taking place in Israel. The wide-ranging protest in Israel and the massive number of reservists who had voiced a decision not to show up for reserve duty are indications of an unprecedented social phenomenon that is worthy of scholarly attention. How do we, as critical scholars, put an identity on the military? How do we interpret situations in which the military is more democratic than the government?