The Israel Defense Force (IDF) dismissed a soldier fighting the Hezbollah in Lebanon from military reserve service on Saturday. The decision was a consequence of the trooper's social media activity, it is learnt.
Why is this news making waves in Tel Aviv? Because the said soldier is not one among the numerous reserve soldiers fighting in Lebanon and Gaza. He is a Member of Knesset (MK), the unicameral legislature of Israel, from Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition!
MK Yitzhak Kroizer, a member of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, was the personnel asked to go back home from the frontlines after he shared a photo of himself inside a building in southern Lebanonon alongside a few of his armed comrades. “Office of MK Kroizer,” the graffiti on the wall behind the soldiers read in Hebrew. According to Israeli media reports, MK Yitzhak Kroizer shared the image on social media to show that he has managed to open a mock office in southern Lebanon where IDF is engaging Hezbollah on the ground.
Confirming the development, the IDF Spokespersons Unit reportedly told the Times Of Israel that, “The incident was investigated, and it was decided to end the reserve service of the individual in question.”
After Kroizer was dismissed from service over the video, Ben Gvir threw his weight behind his party colleague. “Thank you for the dozens of reserve days you volunteered in the past year. Shame on the IDF command who fired you because of the publication of this photo... MK Kroizer, you are the pride of Otzma Yehudit, and you are the pride of the people of Israel,” Ben Gvir wrote.
On his end, Kroizer vouched to carry on his fight for Israel in the Knesset instead. “I’ve had the privilege of fighting for you during more than 100 days of reserve duty over the past year. I’ll continue to fight for you in the Knesset together with my friends from the Otzma Yehudit faction,” the MK was quoted as saying by the TOI.
Israel's Otzma Yehudit
Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit is known for its ultra-nationalist and anti-Arab political stance. It is the ideological descendant of the Kach party -- an orthodox Jewish outfit that was outlawed under the anti-terrorism laws. It was the first party to sign a coalition agreement with Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud (National Liberal Movement) following the 2022 Israeli legislative election.
Kroizer is one of the party's six representatives in the Knesset.
