Katz orders Democrats party candidate ousted from IDF reserves over call to refuse service

Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the IDF to remove an anti-government activist from reserve duty after the reservist appeared to encourage refusal to serve on political grounds. Omri Ronen, an officer in the elite Maglan unit and a member of the Brothers in Arms movement and Yair Golan’s The Democrats party, stated that Israelis should “do everything to prevent a coup d’état… including refusing to report” for military service.

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do everything to prevent a coup d’état… including refusing to report

Ronen, who has served over 350 days of reserve duty since October 7, 2023, has a personal connection to the conflict; his grandmother was murdered by terrorists during the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Despite this, his remarks have drawn a sharp response from the defense minister.

The Defense Ministry stated that Katz views such remarks from active reservists with “great severity.” He reiterated his policy that there is “no place in the reserve forces” for anyone who calls for refusal to serve or incites against military service. Katz declared “zero tolerance” and instructed IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to ensure Ronen is removed from any IDF service framework.

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no place in the reserve forces

Katz asserted that the military “must remain outside political disputes and only serve Israel’s security.” This stance follows previous actions where Katz banned other reservists, including The Democrats leader Yair Golan, from reserve duty over political statements. Golan was previously banned after stating that Israel’s government was killing babies in Gaza “as a hobby.”

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zero tolerance

The Democrats MK Naama Lazimi criticized Katz, accusing those who “legislate laws for draft dodging, harm the army, foment a coup d’état and are destroying Israel from within will not preach morality to us.” Lazimi’s comments referenced a recent Knesset law that suspended the arrest of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers, a move criticized for potentially legitimizing mass non-enlistment amid IDF manpower shortages.

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the military “must remain outside political disputes and only serve Israel’s security.”