Israeli reservists say they are fighting for its democracy

By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli army reservist Avishai Cohen says his decision to stop reporting for duty was perhaps the hardest of his life. But he is ready to face the consequences, including possible jail time, as he protests against moves to limit the judiciary's authority.

He is one of a growing number of reservists who have said they will stop serving in protest at steps by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to make changes to the judiciary, seeing a threat to Israel's democracy.

It reflects just how deeply Israel has been fractured over the plans, with the repercussions hitting a military that, with the key support of reservists, has been vital to the state's survival through numerous wars since it was established in 1948.

Cohen, 42, a major, declared his decision on social media after Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition ratified the first part of their plan in parliament on Monday, curbing some of the Supreme Court's powers.

He thought about his late grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor, as he weighed up his decision. "I remember, she told us that it is our duty ... to serve, to protect our country," Cohen told Reuters.

"But then I also remembered the lesson about humanity about the duty of soldiers to refuse to serve in a ... non-democratic army," said Cohen, who posted his decision alongside a photo of him in uniform with his arm around his grandmother.

The plans have prompted months of unprecedented protests.

Critics have accused Netanyahu of authoritarianism in his moves to roll back Supreme Court powers which have long been a check on government. Supporters of the changes say they are needed for balance among branches of government, and reject criticism that Israel's democracy is in jeopardy.

The Israeli army on Tuesday acknowledged an increase in requests to abstain from military service, adding that damage would be done, gradually, to the preparedness of the armed forces if they did not report for duty for a long time.

The military declined to provide Reuters with figures of how many reservists have notified their commanding officers that they will not serve.

THE FINAL STRAW

Known as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the army fought several major wars with Arab states after the declaration of Israel in 1948, and in more recent times has battled Iran-backed adversaries such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Its ongoing operations include raids against Palestinian militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where violence has been surging for more than 15 months.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday the Israeli military "is combat-ready and will remain combat-ready" despite the protesting reservists, whom he accused of trying to "put a gun to the head of the government".

Alongside full-time professional soldiers, many branches of the Israeli military depend on reservists who are required to undergo regular training and are called up at times of war.

Israeli law does not punish those defined as volunteer reservists if they refuse to serve. But reservists like Cohen - who is defined as a combat officer - must serve when requested to do so until they are 45, or risk punishment.

Cohen served as a soldier in the West Bank and later became a human rights activist, authoring a book criticising Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and its occupation of Palestinian territories.

His father and two brothers have all served.

Cohen said he continued to serve despite his criticism of Israeli policies in the West Bank. "I still decided that I need to contribute to protect my country," he said.

But Monday’s vote was the last straw.

"It was maybe the most difficult decision I’ve taken in my life," Cohen said, adding that he hoped others would follow in his footsteps.

Ahead of Monday's vote, protest leaders had said thousands of volunteer reservists would not report for duty if the government continues with the judiciary overhaul.

In a latter last week, more than 1,100 air force reservists threatened to stop serving.

Another letter shared with Reuters last week was signed by 750 reservists with the intelligence special operations division who said they won't report for duty.

One reservist, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said 300 people had joined a Whatsapp group he administers for special operations reservists who will stop serving, and it now had 650 members.

He shared with Reuters dozens of text messages which he said were copies of messages sent by reservists to their commanding officers saying they would no longer serve.

Retired helicopter pilot Guy Poran, 67, who leads a group of air force reservists against the judicial overhaul, said many pilots would not serve after the decision.

They are waiting to see if the Supreme Court, which said on Wednesday it would hear an appeal against the new law, would strike down the measure.

Poran said it’s currently impossible to calculate the number of pilots who would be grounded over time, but the announcements that they would stop volunteering for reserve duty were a "major blow, a major shake-up" for the air force.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; editing by Tom Perry and Mark Heinrich)