Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevi spoke Thursday at the graduation ceremony of the Israel Defense Forces combat officers course and addressed the controversy over the judicial reform that has led to massive peaceful protesting around the country.
The president referred to the efforts he is making to lead to negotiations between the two parties: "I am working day and night to reach broad agreements that will prevent a terrible rift within us and preserve our country as a Jewish and democratic country." The Israeli President's role is largely ceremonial; Herzog's powers to effect change is limited, however, traditionally the President is highly respected and their requests hold significant weight across the political spectrum.
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) called on the Israeli government to adopt President Isaac Herzog’s compromise on judicial reform in a February 21 letter to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yair Lapid.@bandlersbanter reports:https://t.co/lzE2NNW0kq
— Jewish Journal (@JewishJournal) February 23, 2023
Herzog told the new officers: "The army must remain above all controversy. I meet many of our soldiers, the kind ones who I always find carrying the stretcher; And I want to tell you that this unity - which exists under the stretcher, a unity in which everyone bears the responsibility of continuing together, is also what we need as a country, today more than ever.
Herzog added that "you [IDF officers] are the ones who prove to us every day how the stretcher should be carried, what are the threats inherent in pulling it to one side or the other, what danger there is in leaving it or pushing someone out."
Chief of Staff Hertzi Halevi referred to the reservists' protest against the judicial reform and told the officers: "These days, Israeli society is being rocked by controversy. The IDF is a unique meeting point of the army and society and therefore the controversy also reaches its servants: its soldiers, its citizens, its commanders, and its sons. IDF soldiers and officers do not serve in distant countries, they protect our homes, operate near our homes, and go back and forth between them. And the debate in the House is up. Just as we knew how to contain this uniqueness throughout the years of the IDF's existence as the people's army, we will know how to do it today as well.
🚨At officer graduation ceremony, IDF Chief of Staff warns reservists & regular soldiers "not to involve the uniform in disputes shaking the country" and preserve army unity. Gen. Herzi Halevi alluded to deep concerns about a possible reservists' strike. https://t.co/2xA2h22cXy
— Noga Tarnopolsky × ×’×” ×˜×¨× ×•×¤×•×œ×¡×§×™ نوغا ترنوبولسكي (@NTarnopolsky) February 23, 2023
"We, the commanders of the IDF at all ranks, and from today you too, the male and female officers, stand by the principle, the mission of the IDF is one national mission, and there is no end to it: protecting the state and maintaining the security of its citizens; those who serve in the IDF are subject to the law and the orders of the army and act according to the spirit of the IDF and its values. We will be attentive to the whispers of the servants regarding the dispute, not in order to take sides in it but to leave it out and preserve one IDF, united around its complex tasks.
Herzi then specifically addressed the reservists protesting the judicial reform and said "we will respect the special nature of our reserve force, and we shall remember that two reserve men can stand on both sides of the dispute, and not involve the uniform in it.
#IDF chief says military committed to keeping out politics, amid overhaul tensions. After thousands of reservists march against government’s judicial plans, Herzi Halevi says reserve forces must ‘leave controversy outside’ of active service #Israel [TOI] pic.twitter.com/7TYmCebGdg
— Eli Dror (@edrormba) February 23, 2023
They will come to the reserves, put on the uniform, leave the controversy outside and go on their mission shoulder to shoulder, united as one.
