Israel’s education minister on Monday instructed a regional high school in Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh, nine miles northeast of Netanya, to cancel a lecture by Ron Scherf, a reserve lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces and co-founder of the anti-government protest movement Brothers in Arms.
Scherf was invited to participate in a seminar on human rights and democracy, but the school canceled the invitation following orders from the ministry, according to Israel National News.
The report cited Ma’ayan-Shahar High School’s principal as writing to Scherf that “a new directive was published by the Education Ministry director-general, which views the Brothers in Arms organization as one that calls for or promotes refusal to serve [in the IDF], in violation of the State Education Law,” adding, “Accordingly, it bars educational institutions from cooperating with you. Thank you for your willingness to come.”
Scherf, himself a member of the IDF’s prestigious General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (“Sayeret Matkal”), co-founded the anti-government group in 2023 during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s now largely shelved judicial reform plans.
Around a year ago, the military froze Scherf’s reserve service due to the group’s calls to refuse military duty in protest. It also rescinded call-up orders to Sgt. Maj. (res.) Eyal Naveh, another leading activist from Sayeret Matkal.
In related news, IDF Col. (res.) German Giltman this week withdrew his candidacy for a promotion to a top role in the Ground Forces after video surfaced showing him being part of a Brothers in Arms press briefing.
Giltman withdrew his name from consideration after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he would not sign off on the promotion, which was first announced by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir last week.
During a meeting with Zamir over the weekend, Giltman claimed that he “never called for refusal and that the video that was circulated does not accurately reflect his positions,” the military stated on Friday.
“I was a member of ‘Tankers for the Defense of Israel and Democracy,’ a separate movement that was never part of Brothers in Arms. I never called for refusal to serve or volunteer, and I condemn such calls,” Giltman said in a statement to the Hebrew-language Ynet outlet.
In 2023, thousands of Israeli reservists threatened to refuse to report for duty due to the government’s now-shelved judicial reform proposals.
Some 11,000 reservists, including 1,000 Israeli Air Force personnel, said they would refuse to serve in protest against the government’s agenda, raising concerns of serious damage to the IDF’s ability to respond to threats.
In March 2023, Netanyahu described soldiers’ refusal to report for duty for political reasons as an existential threat, warning that the moves “threaten the foundation of our existence.”
