Israeli reservists to refuse the call to duty

(19 Jul 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tel Aviv, Israel - 19 July 2023
1. Reservists from various units signing declaration they will not report for duty
2. People submitting slips into a box saying they refuse to serve 
3. Tilt up from man singing declaration he will not report for duty to building of the Ha’Kirya, Israel Defense Forces base Camp in Tel Aviv
4. Men signing declaration they will not serve
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Eran Etzion, Reservist:
"We’re now doing something that is excruciating for each and every one of us. We have here reservists from my unit and from other special forces, we have pilots, we have navy seals, we have the best and the brightest, and the most courageous patriotic Israelis who have served their country, who have risked their lives in combat, in our wars and in day-to-day activities, special missions across the border. And now for the very first time, all of us together, thousands all together, hundreds are here now have come to the decision that we must stop because we cannot allow ourselves to betray the nature of this country, the heart of Israeli democracy."
6. Batell Vallentine Blaish-Sultanik, among the first Israeli female to graduate Israel's Naval Officers Academy, on stage UPSOUND (Hebrew): "Democracy, democracy."
7. Blaish-Sultanik on stage UPSOUND (Hebrew): "What everyone here has in common is the determined decision not to serve (under) a dictatorship."
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Yiftach Golov, Reservist:
"I’m literally tearing today because it required the same values that brought us to the special units, being patriots, brave, being at the front line regardless whether the threat is external or internal. In this very unfortunate circumstances, we all recognize that there are major threats against the state of Israel is from within. So yes, it’s very emotional for us being here but we all understand this is what we have to do. We have to stop the madness. We have to stop this government of destruction destroying the army."
9. Woman signing declaration
10. Various of men signing declaration
11. People at rally with Israeli flags

STORYLINE:
Hundreds of Israeli reservists from various units joined a rally in Tel Aviv on Wednesday declaring they would not report for duty anymore, as Israel’s governing coalition pushed ahead with its contentious plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary.

The legislation sparked intensifying criticism from military reservists in elite units, including the air force and cyberwarfare.

Many have warned they will not show up for duty if the overhaul moves ahead.

Reservists, who make up the backbone of the country’s mostly compulsory military, played a key role in prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the overhaul plan earlier this year.

A parliamentary committee prepared a bill that would limit judicial oversight on some government decisions, expected to go before a final parliamentary vote early next week.

The judicial overhaul, advanced by Netanyahu’s nationalist and religious government, has deeply divided Israel, plunging it into one of its worst domestic crises and even sparking concern from its most important ally, the U.S.

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters blocked highways and train stations and massed in central Tel Aviv during a day of countrywide demonstrations against Netanyahu’s planned judicial overhaul.



AP video shot by Alon Bernstein

===========================================================


Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...