Coalition MKs condemn continued service of 'Brother in Arms' protest leader for encouraging reservist refusal over judicial reforms

Government ministers argue that Scherf's past actions may have compromised IDF readiness

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Following controversy over the continued reserve service of one of the leaders of the "Brothers in Arms" protest movement, the IDF announced on Thursday that it would evaluate the reserve service of Lt.-Col. Ron Scherf.

Scherf leads the Brothers in Arms group, which played a significant role in the anti-government judicial reforms protest movement in 2023.

The controversy began on Wednesday, after Scherf spoke during a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription, noting that he was still serving the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) as a reservist.

“I am a lieutenant colonel in the Sayeret Matkal, serving 34 years in the regular, permanent, and reserve forces. For the past 15 years, I have been commanding the screening in the special units,” Scherf said.

Knesset Member Tali Gottlieb of the Likud party asked him: “After you called for refusal?”

Scherf replied that he did not call for refusal.

Following his testimony during the meeting, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote a letter to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein, demanding disciplinary action against Scherf for leading a "political collective refusal to serve.”

“You all know very well that in the six months before the war, black lines were crossed regarding the use of threats of collective insubordination as a tool to achieve political goals,” Chikli wrote. “Inconceivably, some of them continue in core roles, including roles that require exemplary examples, such as selection for elite IDF units.”

During the protests against the government's judicial overhaul, Scherf announced that he would no longer volunteer for reserve duty as long as the coalition continued to pursue the legislation.

Chikli pointed to statements made by Scherf in March 2023, in which he said, “If the [judicial reform] laws are passed, we and tens of thousands of others will stop volunteering.”

Last July, Scherf was asked in an interview if he had signed a declaration that he would not volunteer for the reserves, and he responded in the affirmative.

“It's a difficult day but we feel that in the face of a government that is advancing to the destruction of the democratic state, it's the right thing to do,” Scherf said at the time.

After Scherf’s statements to the committee on Wednesday, the IDF spokesman’s office praised his service, saying, “Lt. Col. (Res.) Ron Scherf is a highly privileged reservist, as expressed throughout his regular and reserve service, as well as in the Iron Sword War. Lt. Col. (res.) Scherf continues to report for reserve duty when summoned to them in accordance with the needs of the war.”

Chikli, and other coalition Members of Knesset, argue that this action may have compromised the IDF’s readiness, especially in light of the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and terror attack.

Following the complaint made by Chikli, the IDF announced, “The issue of the service of Lt.-Col. (res.) Ron Scherf (Brothers in Arms) is being reexamined and will be determined later.”