Israel

The Israeli Air Force (AIF) has been weakened by the refusal of reservists to report for service in protest against controversial judiciary reforms, according to the Commander of the AIF, Gen. Tomer Bar, Haaretz wrote. “To say that you will not show up for duty — as the army chief of staff said, and I repeat — it harms the IDF (Ed: Israeli Defence Force),” he told the reservists.
     The judicial reform was adopted on July 24. With the law, the Supreme Court will no longer have the ability to intervene in decisions that elected representatives pass but which, in the opinion of the Supreme Court, are contrary to other laws and regulations. At the same time, politicians will have more influence on the appointment of judges. Some critics argue that judicial reform is Netanyahu’s attempt to overturn corruption charges levelled against him. Conversely, Netanyahu and others believe that the courts in Israel have interfered too much in politicians’ decisions. In their view, the reform must restore the balance between the judiciary and politicians. /ritzau/