美国国家公共电台 NPR--Why some military reservists are not reporting for duty in Israel

Why some military reservists are not reporting for duty in Israel

Transcript¹

Some members of Israel's military reserve are refusing to report for duty, in protest against plans by the ruling right-wing government to weaken the judiciary.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Some military reservists in Israel are refusing to report for duty. They're aligning² themselves with a protest movement against the right-wing government's plans to weaken the Israeli judiciary. NPR's Daniel Estrin spoke³ with some reservists and gives us this report on what's at stake.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORN)

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE⁴: Omer Dank is in the streets after decades in the sky. Recently retired⁵ from the air force, he fought in every major Israeli military campaign since the early '90s. Now he says Israel is fighting him.

OMER DANK: (Speaking Hebrew).

ESTRIN: "The Israeli government has launched a war against its citizens," he said in a speech at a roadside protest. "We are under attack over Israel's basic common denominator - liberal democracy." Israel's government is proposing to weaken the independence of the Supreme⁶ Court. Many Israeli reservists have threatened not to serve. Hundreds have already skipped reserve duties.

DANK: It's a real big deal.

ESTRIN: That's Dank speaking to NPR. His job was to sit in the back of an F-16 fighter jet and guide bombs to their targets.

DANK: If the courts won't be independent or won't be considered as independent by the world, by the U.N., by the U.S., every pilot in the Israeli air force will be at risk of being arrested in other countries.

ESTRIN: Israel has already faced allegations of war crimes for its airstrikes on Gaza, killing⁷ civilians⁸ while fighting Hamas. Some officials have even faced European arrest warrants. But Israel has staved off prosecution⁹, arguing that its judiciary holds the military to account. Human rights groups say Israel doesn't do that enough. Dank says the proposed legal changes could tip the balance.

DANK: No one will be able to give us the assurance that it will be OK.

ESTRIN: The widespread calls for disobedience throughout Israel's military units are unprecedented¹⁰. In Israel, most citizens must serve in the military, and many volunteer for decades in the reserves. Israel's military depends on reservists for special missions. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi is worried.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HERZI HALEVI: (Speaking Hebrew).

ESTRIN: He told reservists in a speech, "Disobedience is a red line. There are cracks that can form that we won't be able to fix later." Amir Avivi, who runs a veterans group, says the military should be kept out of politics.

AMIR AVIVI: We are all very, very worried about this reality where reservists say that because of some political views, they are not going to come to their military duty. It's not acceptable.

ESTRIN: He says reservists who don't report for duty to the Israel Defense¹¹ Forces can weaken the country's security.

AVIVI: We need bigger unity¹². We have big, big challenges around us - Iran, the Palestinian arena¹³, international things that are going on. The IDF is above politics.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAR HORN)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Chanting in non-English language).

ESTRIN: Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have protested weekly for more than two months. At one protest, I met special forces reservist Dor Winter.

DOR WINTER: I'm not going to serve if all those laws are going to take place in the next few months. I'm not - I don't believe in it. And at the end of the day, I love Israel. I love to serve in the army, but not on those conditions. It's not only me. It's also my teammates, my team members, my commandos - all of us.

ESTRIN: Under public pressure, the government says it's toning down its proposed overhaul¹⁴. But the opposition¹⁵ says it would still weaken the judiciary. And reservists are not backing down. They're planning more rallies with slogans like Operation No Half Democracy.

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 aligning   

n. (直线)对准 动词align的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals. 有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。
• ToolTips provide textual hints that assist in drawing lines and aligning objects. 工具提示提供了协助画线和对象对齐的文本提示。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

13 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

14 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。