After Court Hearing, Petitioners Drop Challenge to Hendel’s Use of 'Reservists' Name

Against the backdrop of fighting in the north, the Reservists Party opened a headquarters in Kiryat Shmona. The Supreme Court heard a petition today, Thursday, filed by the “Reservists, Generation of Victory” movement against Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists Party and its use of the name “Reservists.” During the hearing, the justices expressed skepticism about the petitioners’ claims, and by the end of the session they decided to withdraw the petition.

The battle over the Reservists Party’s use of its name began in November 2025 with a precedent-setting petition by Likud to the Registrar of Political Parties, attorney Shuli Avni Shoham, in which it demanded a ban on the use of the name “Reservists.” The petition argued that the name could “mislead the public, harm public order and public feelings.” The Reservists Party also said it had been pressured. The Registrar of Political Parties delayed the decision beyond the time allowed by law, but in the end the objections were rejected and the party name was approved.

The party said reservist service is an inseparable part of its identity, as it is made up of reservists, reservist families, IDF wounded veterans, bereaved families and volunteers in civil organizations. Among its founders are prominent figures in the struggle against the law on draft evasion and in activities for universal conscription. The Reservists Party was represented in the proceedings by attorneys Uri Haberman and Adi Marenberg.

The “Reservists, Generation of Victory” movement, represented by attorney Itzik Bam, filed a petition with the Supreme Court against the Registrar of Political Parties’ decision. During today’s hearing, the justices questioned the petitioners’ arguments and recommended that they consider withdrawing the petition. Now that the petitioners have withdrawn it, Yoaz Hendel will be able to use the name, the Reservists Party.

Yoaz Hendel, chairman of the Reservists Party, said: “A movement calling itself ‘the Reservists’ petitioned against a party’s use of the name ‘the Reservists.’ The petitioners are emissaries of the coalition, which encourages evasion with one hand and harms the serving public with the other. Reserve duty is a central part of my identity and that of my partners in the party, many of whom have been in cycles of service at any given moment over the past two years, and in a week I am heading out for another 100-day round. Apparently, the term ‘Reservists’ is holding up an uncomfortable mirror to the coalition and its emissaries.”