Hili Tropper on calls for non-reporting to reserve duty: "It is a fracture"

Chairman of the 'Beit Tzioni-Miluimnikim' party, MK Hili Tropper, addressed the calls for non-reporting to reserve duty during the protest period following October 7th in a podcast by Nadav Peri from All-In, stating that it was a grave mistake.

"I am consistent on this matter," said Tropper. "When the IDF calls, you come, period. You do not refuse. Unfortunately, some of those people who called not to report back then have truly said, 'We were wrong, we went too far,' but some of them still struggle to say: 'Keep the IDF out of the debate,' and no matter what - when the IDF calls, you report. In my eyes, this was much more than a mistake, it was a fracture."

He further added, "It is important to remember that on October 7th, everyone reported and were partners in saving the state throughout hundreds of days of reserve duty," but emphasized that calls for non-reporting have long-term consequences for trust in the IDF and for the ability to keep it out of political controversy, and therefore it is important to say in a clear voice: "This will not happen again."

Regarding the possibility of forming a government after the elections, Tropper clarified: "I will not complete 61 for Netanyahu. What is national about a coalition that stands alongside deserters and draft dodgers? What is national about a coalition that systematically, for two years and nine months, fails to provide service for all? This is a government that harms Israel's security because it does not provide enough soldiers."

"The last ones who can preach"

Tropper added that "the last ones who can preach morality on the issue of non-reporting are the members of the current government, who continue to support draft evasion. You cannot condemn calls for non-reporting on one hand, and in the same breath perpetuate evasion on the other."

In February 2023, Tropper called on young people opposing the judicial reform to refrain from refusing orders, just as religious soldiers during the disengagement period did not heed the calls of great rabbis to refuse the evacuation order.

Tropper spoke before students of pre-military preparatory programs at the protest tent near the Supreme Court in Jerusalem and said the following:

"Even those who support the reform are my brothers and sisters. I do not want to see him lying bleeding on the floor. Because when he lies bleeding, I am also wounded. This is mutual responsibility. To say that there is mutual responsibility only with those who think like me is not that great. The great test for social solidarity is to understand that the pain of the other is also my pain. His distress is also my distress. If you are deaf to it and say that it is his distress - this is where society falls apart."