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A protest letter signed by approximately 950 former and reserve Israeli Air Force personnel was published Thursday morning as a full-page ad in several national newspapers, despite warnings from IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. Initial military reviews found that around 10% of the signatories are currently active reservists—most of them volunteers—while the rest are retired or no longer in service.
Later on Thursday morning the IDF said that active reserve service members who signed the letter - about 10% of the 950 who signed it - cannot continue to serve, although they claim that this is a protest against the government and not against the IDF.
Among the prominent signatories are former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, former IAF Chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Nimrod Sheffer, Brig. Gen. (res.) Assaf Agmon, Maj. Gen. (res.) Gil Regev, and Brig. Gens. (res.) Relik Shafir and Amir Haskel.
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Maj. Gen. (res.) Nimrod Shefer is one of the initiators of the letter; Israeli Air Force Commander Tomer Bar
(Photos: IDF Spokesperson, Eitan Glickman)
In recent days, several dozen active reservists who had signed the letter withdrew their names following conversations with their commanding officers. Still, the Air Force is closely monitoring the situation, with concern that additional serving members could join the initiative. For now, the IDF is not pursuing disciplinary measures, though the letter’s open expression of mistrust in the military leadership has led to a policy of not assigning tasks to those who declare they no longer believe in the mission’s legitimacy.
Within both the IDF General Staff and the Air Force, the letter has not been formally classified as an act of refusal or insubordination, since none of the signatories received direct orders they refused to obey, nor were they called up and declined to report.
The letter reads: “We, reserve and former Air Force personnel, demand the immediate return of the hostages—even if it requires an immediate cessation of hostilities. At this time, the war serves primarily political and personal interests, not security ones. Continuation of the war doesn’t advance any of the declared goals of the war, and will bring about the deaths of the hostages, of IDF soldiers and innocent civilians, while further eroding the strength of the reserve forces.
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Protest letter signed by approximately 950 former and reserve Israeli Air Force personnel
“As has been proven in the past, only an agreement can return hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of hostages and the endangerment of our soldiers. We call on all citizens of Israel to mobilize for action and demand in every way: stop the fighting and bring the hostages home—now. Every day that passes endangers their lives. Every moment of hesitation is a disgrace.”
One of the pilots who helped draft the letter told Ynet, “This isn’t about refusal or defiance and isn’t directed at the military. It’s a clear call to the government: bring the hostages home—even at the cost of stopping the war.”
Maj. Gen. (res.) Nimrod Shefer, one of the initiators of the pilots' letter against the continuation of the war told Ynet that "even before October 7, the Air Force pilots were accused of reluctance, but in a complete surprise, the force moved to show up in full force - pilots, navigators, fighters, technicians, maintenance personnel and administration." He added that "After what has happened here in the last year and a half, the Air Force no longer needs to prove anything to anyone. It has done all the proof on the ground, in all arenas."
On Thursday morning, the IDF said that "we are in a multi-front war in which the IDF acts solely for practical and professional considerations, to realize the goals of the war, centered on the return of the hostages. The policy is to keep the IDF above all controversy, and it cannot accept a situation in which service members use their position to oppose the war and at the same time take part in it. It is impossible for a service member to emerge from a control room in a pit and express distrust in his commanders and the goals of the war. This is an impossible anomaly.
The IDF also said that "the Air Force Commander decided, with the full backing of the Chief of Staff, that an active reserve serviceman who signed the letter will not be able to continue serving in the IDF, but the letter has not yet been fully analyzed and its signatures are still being checked. Politics does not exist in the IDF and the IDF is outside the political debate. The IDF will continue to serve as a wall in order to protect the country in all formations. The Air Force Commander is receiving many reinforcements from the entire corps. We cannot meet the mission without the reserve personnel. We believe in the goals of the war. There is great stress and a heavy burden on those serving and we are doing everything to support the families and the servicemen."
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"I am surprised by the decision of the IDF commander to address the people (who signed the letter) in this way and threaten them," Shefer told Ynet. "These are people who have done dozens and hundreds of days of reserve duty in the past year and a half. The letter is a call to the Israeli government to return the kidnapped people home. This is your ultimate responsibility, do it! This is not a call to the Air Force, there is not a word in it about the Air Force, nor about the Chief of Staff."
The Air Force personnel's' letter raised concern among senior IDF officials even before its publication, particularly given its political tone and timing amid broader national tensions surrounding military service and civil protest. It was brought to the attention of Air Force leadership, and its initiators were summoned to a meeting with IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar.
Prior to that, Bar held discussions with several former senior Air Force officials—including former IAF commanders Eliezer Shkedi, Dan Halutz, and Ido Nehushtan—in an effort to prevent the letter’s publication. Zamir joined one of the meetings, delivering a clear message: “Support Tomer Bar. Don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. I expect you to stand behind the Air Force.”
Zamir’s presence was intended to bolster Bar amid what he views as attempts to drag the Air Force into political protest. A senior General Staff official echoed that sentiment: “I expect former IAF commanders to back Tomer Bar, not to encourage refusal or pull the Air Force into political demonstrations,” the official said.