Katz aide intervenes for dismissed reservist, then asks him to publicly praise minister

Messages aired by Channel 13’s Hatzinor reveal how Defense Minister Israel Katz’s spokesman, Adir Dahan, handled the case of reservist Ziv Bernes, who claimed he was dismissed from his unit over political videos. Dahan contacted the IDF regarding Bernes’s situation and subsequently requested Bernes to publish a video crediting Katz for preventing his removal. Dahan also urged Bernes to help curb criticism from other right-wing activists. Bernes initially posted a video alleging his removal from reserve duty due to videos critical of Yashar! party chairman Gadi Eisenkot. After Dahan’s intervention, Bernes published a video praising Katz, stating, “Defense Minister Israel Katz deserves enormous credit.” However, Bernes later announced his service was again terminated and posted another video criticizing Katz. The IDF stated that Bernes was initially removed for political posts, reinstated after promising compliance, and then had his service ended again due to continued political content, emphasizing that all decisions were made by his commanders without external intervention.