Omri Ronen, a social activist and IDF reservist, will not be allowed to return to military service, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday.
“I will not allow the scourge of refusal to return to the ranks of the IDF – for any reason,” he wrote on X/Twitter. “Zero tolerance for refusal.”
“I am determined to eradicate the phenomenon of refusal from the IDF, as I have done since the beginning of my term as defense minister,” he added.
Katz sent a formal letter to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir to inform him of his decision. It came in response to Ronen’s interview with Channel 12’s Meet the Press on Saturday evening in which he said he would refuse reserve duty as a form of political protest.
Ronen, who joined The Democrats Party in February, is a leader of the Brothers and Sisters in Arms organization and has participated in protests against the government’s judicial reform.
In response to the decision, Ronen said Katz “has no shame.”
“The minister for promoting the draft evasion law, the deserter of fighters, and the protector of deserters is afraid that we will come to replace him,” he said. “We are the true servants of this country, and those who are destroying it have no right to preach to us.”
At the time of writing, the IDF had not responded about whether it would comply with Katz's letter.
Despite saying hours earlier that a new message was about to be released in response to Katz's letter, IDF sources later said that a decision on the issue had been delayed.
It was unclear if there would be an announcement late Sunday night or at a later date.
Katz: Omri's comments encourage refusal
In his letter to Zamir, Katz said Ronen “effectively encourages refusal to serve and harms the IDF’s resilience.”
“There is no place to summon for reserve duty anyone who publicly calls for failure to report for duty, or refusal to serve, or who speaks out against military service and thereby harms the IDF’s values, cohesion, and operational readiness,” he wrote.
This policy would apply to future cases, Katz wrote, adding that the IDF “must remain outside political disputes and serve only Israel’s security.”
Yonah Jeremy Bob and Keshet Neev contributed to this report.