The "antisemitism" is (finally) coming from inside the schul.
Opposition to Gaza war grows among Israeli soldiers as strikes ramp up
Story by Hala Gorani
• 11h
TEL AVIV — Barely noticeable only a few months ago, opposition is growing about fresh Israeli operations in Gaza even among the country’s military reservists, some of whom have publicly called out the government for what they say is an immoral and politically motivated decision to continue the war.
“I refuse to commit war crimes,” Yuval Ben Ari told NBC News earlier this month. “The patriotic thing to do is to say no.”
“As an Israeli, as a human being, I’m calling the Israeli government to stop starving 2 million people,” he said, adding that he felt shame and guilt because “people inside Gaza are starving to death.”
As a reservist soldier, Ben Ari served two rotations inside Gaza, the first in the north of the enclave and the second in the south, and he is one of a growing number of former and current Israel Defense Forces personnel — including high-ranking commanders — who have voiced their concerns about the country’s conduct in the war.
This pushback has only grown after the Netanyahu government announced a major new operation dubbed “Gideon’s Chariot,” which began earlier this month.
Over 12,000 current and former service members signed a series of letters since the collapse of the ceasefire in March calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to end the war and declaring they will refuse to serve if it continues, according to Restart Israel, an activist group that tracks how many people oppose the government’s actions.
NBC News has approached the IDF for comment about the letters. In a statement to The Associated Press after one of the letters was released last month, the military said it should be “above all political dispute.”
Speaking in Israel’s southern city of Sderot, which sits a few hundred yards from the Gaza border, meaning the ruins in Gaza are visible and the sound of explosions and aircraft overhead are omnipresent, Ben Ari said he convinced the IDF to let him re-enlist after the Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Guy Poran, a former Israeli air force pilot, speaks at an anti-war protest in May. (Shira Pinson / NBC News)
Despite a leg injury, he said he felt he should join the army to protect his homeland. But during his first deployment in Gaza late last year, he said he quickly became disillusioned by the destruction he witnessed.
Sent to southern Gaza when Israel resumed its military campaign in March, Ben Ari said he came to the realization that he could no longer serve in good conscience. So a week into his monthlong rotation, he said he asked his commander to be relieved of his duty and made his way to the border.
As soon as he was back inside Israel, he wrote on social media, “I will no longer wear this uniform under the current government.”
While most of his friends and family applauded his stance, Ben Ari said, others called him a traitor and accused him of selfishness and abandoning the remaining hostages — criticism he said he expected. He later penned an anonymous article for Israel’s highly respected Haaretz newspaper about his experiences.
A man reacts as he sits amid the rubble at the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi School in Gaza City on May 26, 2025, following an Israeli strike. (Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images)© Omar Al-Qattaa
However, he is far from alone in expressing his disquiet after Israel shattered its ceasefire with Hamas in early March and imposed a blockade preventing food, fuel and medical supplies from entering Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed more than 54,000 people since the current conflict began, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave.
The IDF would not comment on the number of reservists it uses or the size of its overall forces.
“They are not saying, ‘Stop the war because we are tired,’” Guy Poran, a retired Israeli air force pilot, said in an interview at his home in Tel Aviv earlier this month. “They’re saying this war is not legitimate.”
Poran, 69, who helped initiate an anti-war letter signed by almost 1,200 current and former air force members, added that Netanyahu, who is currently on trial over allegations of bribery and fraud, “is deeply in trouble, indicted with very serious criminal charges.”
Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the string of corruption probes. |
