13 Mar 2023; MEMO: Recent poll shows massive support for reservists' refusal of military service in protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul, Quds Press reported yesterday.
The poll, whose results were published by Ynet News, showed that 70 per cent of the opposition supported reservists who refuse military services in protest against Netanyahu's judicial changes.
At the same time, the poll found that 31 per cent of right-wingers support the reservists who reject military services, while 87 per cent of left-wingers declared their support for the walkouts of the reservists.
This came just one day after the Israeli air force reinstated a reservist colonel who had been dismissed for trying to organise walkouts from training flights to protest against the government's planned judicial change.
Israeli Air Force Chief Major General Tomer Bar said the colonel "took upon himself inappropriate authority in his contact with the IAF pilots.
Unionizing to synchronize absence from service, though coming from good intentions, is forbidden."
The colonel represented 37 reservist pilots and navigators from an F-15 squadron who have said they would skip a training day to "devote our time to dialogue and reflection for the sake of democracy and national unity."
