On Tuesday, Knesset member Almog Cohen of the Otzma Yehudit Party formally requested that Justice Minister Yariv Levin outlaw the Achim L’Neshek [Brothers in Arms] anti-judicial reform organization, aka Brothers and Sisters in Arms.
Cohen’s demand comes following the recent reveal that one of the suspects in the fire-bombing at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea is a member of the NGO that has been at the forefront of protests against the government’s judicial reform efforts for two years.
In his letter to Levin, Cohen characterized Brothers in Arms as “nothing more than a violent militia established to prevent the judicial reform by any means necessary.” He accused the organization of engaging in illegal actions, including encouraging active refusal of military service.
Cohen’s allegations against the group include assertions that Brothers in Arms has been responsible for actions that have harmed public officials, police officers and state symbols. The lawmaker also accused the organization of calling for the disruption of public order, blocking roads and endangering the lives of law enforcement officers.
Three suspects in the firebombing incident have been named. They are: former Rear Admiral Ofer Doron, Amir Sadeh, and Itai Yafeh. Doron had previously announced his refusal to perform volunteer reservist duty in protest of the government’s judicial reform plan and was therefore removed from the reserve corps.
Brothers and Sisters in Arms dismissed Cohen’s allegations as “bizarre conspiracies” and suggesting he focus on working for the residents of southern Israel instead of “wasting taxpayers’ money.”
In response to the arrests made on Saturday night, Brothers in Arms stated: “Violence is the erosion of democracy’s foundation. It has never been and will never be the way of our protest. Yariv Levin’s attempt to link this or that incident to justify reviving the judicial coup [i.e., the judicial reform effort] that tore the nation apart will find the Israeli public standing as a solid wall.”
The group, which rebranded itself after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack and is now calling itself Brothers and Sisters in Arms for Democracy, received donations of more than $6 million from the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA).
The Israeli organization claims that this money went for aid work carried out to help Israelis after the onset of the Iron Sword war. In January, the organization switched gears back to its protest roots. In March, it resumed its weekly anti-government protests after a hiatus of six months due to desire for unity after the Hamas invasion.
Many critics including Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, have said that the donation by JFNA was a mistake made due to the change in branding.
Chikli has condemned Brothers in Arms in the past, calling it an “extreme leftist organization” who caused “heavy damage to the State of Israel.”
