The IDF spokesman’s office on Saturday denied reports that the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the army would lose its readiness to maintain national security within 48 hours due to those protesting against the repeal of the judiciary’s rationality clause.
The discredited leak came shortly after the announcement of the groups leading the call for reservists to leave the IDF. 10,000 reservists Their objective was joining the 1,194 Air Force Reserve, which also included a growing number of fighter pilots.
The IDF also said that Halevi would keep his communications with the “political sphere” – Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant – secret and not share them with the public due to national security concerns.
Clearly, the statement did not reassure the public about how long the IDF could maintain its readiness to keep up with the growing wave of commitments to leave, and jerusalem post It is understood that no such statement will be issued on Saturday night, although the IDF provided reassuring messages as late as the middle of last week.
Halevi was expected to meet Netanyahu and Bravery to provide additional updates to them on Sunday, but the IDF would not formally confirm the meetings.
Already on Thursday, Air Force Chief Maj. Gen. Tomar Bar issued a statement making it clear that the IDF was approaching a tipping point where losses to the IDF’s preparedness would become real, though he also refrained from giving any concrete timelines.
Former defense chief supports reserves
In addition to IDF reservists and the air force in particular, a letter from former security chiefs to Netanyahu was released on Saturday, holding him responsible for the crisis and asking him to change course.
Five former Mossad chiefs, three former IDF chiefs, three former Shin Bet chiefs, including the most recent chief Nadav Argaman, a former police commissioner, and dozens of other top-ranking officials signed the letter.
In the letter, he stated that “the Israeli government under your leadership is promoting legislative measures while completely ignoring the damage it will do to Israeli democracy. This law is crushing what Israeli society shares, breaking up the people, disbanding the IDF, and striking a deadly blow to Israel’s security.”
“The legislative process violates the social contract that has existed for 75 years between the Israeli government and thousands of reserve officers and soldiers from the land, air, sea and intelligence branches, who have volunteered for many years for the reserve to defend the democratic State of Israel, and now with a broken heart announce that they are suspending their volunteer service.”
In addition, he added, “We reserve generals, police commanders, heads of departments in the Mossad and Shin Bet, stand by and fully support those fighters who have decided to take action and suspend their voluntary service in the reserve. In this difficult time, it is an act of national responsibility to protect Israeli democracy.”
“We place full responsibility on you for harming the security of the IDF and Israel and expect you to take responsibility for stopping the legislation. We expect you to lead the negotiation process and agree on amendments that will have broad consensus among the people and the Knesset.
“We, veterans of Israel’s wars, feel like ‘the eve of Yom Kippur war’ and are showing you and your government a bright red ‘Stop’ sign.”
former defense chief
The letter was not signed by the latest IDF chief Aviv Kohavi or the latest Mossad chief Yossi Cohen. Kohavi has declined to comment on ongoing public events since leaving office in January so as not to harm Halevi’s tenure.
Cohen, along with about a dozen former national security advisers, participated in a letter in 2023 against Netanyahu’s previous judicial overhaul process, but this time he has remained silent.