Katz aide intervenes for dismissed reservist, then asks him to publicly praise minister
Messages show the aide asked pro-government activist Ziv Bernes to say Katz had prevented his removal, help stop criticism from other activists and circulate the video online; the IDF denies any outside role in the decisions
In a recent incident involving Defense Minister Israel Katz, a spokesman for Katz's office intervened on behalf of a pro-government reservist named Ziv Bernes. Bernes had claimed he was dismissed from his reserve unit due to political videos he had posted online. After Bernes posted his own videos alleging he had been removed from his unit, his spokesman, Adir Dahan, reached out to the IDF.
Dahan then asked Bernes to create a video praising Katz for helping prevent his removal. Bernes obliged, publishing a video stating that Katz had intervened to protect him from being dismissed. However, after the video was posted, Bernes claimed he had been removed from his brigade again and posted another video criticizing Katz.
This led to a heated exchange between Dahan and Bernes, with Dahan accusing Bernes of making a video that undermined their efforts to help him. Despite the controversy, the reports indicate that Bernes was eventually returned to his unit after Katz's office contacted the military and he promised to refrain from making further political statements.
The IDF maintained that all decisions regarding Bernes's service were made solely by his commanders, without any outside interference, and emphasized that reservists are prohibited from making public political statements while serving.
Written by urgent.news from Ynetnews's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
