Shay Kallach
Shay Kallach (He:שי קלך) (born 29 March 1982) is an Israeli Air Force fighter pilot and public advocate. He served as an F-16 fighter pilot in the 144th and 140th Squadrons of the Israeli Air Force and later served as an instructor and course commander at the Israeli Air Force Flight Academy.[1] During the 2023 Israeli judicial reform controversy, he became publicly active in debates surrounding military service and civil–military relations, founding the Pilots Against Refusal group and the Netsach Israel political advocacy movement.[2]
Early Life and Family Background
Kallach was born in Kibbutz Ginosar, located on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.[3] He is the grandson of Judge Moshe Kallach, who served on the Tiberias Magistrate’s Court.
Kallach is a ninth-generation sabra and a descendant of Rabbi Shmuel Heller (1785–1884), a rabbi and physician from Safed who served as a community leader for nearly fifty years. Heller played a central role in the rehabilitation of Safed following the 1837 earthquake and helped maintain the city as a center of the Hasidic movement. He was also responsible for distributing charitable funds on behalf of the Amsterdam Clerks and Merchants’ Association, as well as benefactors including Moses Montefiore and Edmond de Rothschild.
Rabbi Heller’s granddaughter, Rachel Deutsch (1868–1965), was the first professionally trained midwife in the Land of Israel. She studied at the Vienna School of Midwifery with the encouragement of Theodor Herzl.
On his maternal side, Kallach descends from the Farjoun family of Lebanon. His grandmother immigrated to Israel from Morocco in 1953.[4]
Air Force Career
In 2000, Kallach was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces and was accepted into the Israeli Air Force Flight Academy, graduating as a fighter pilot. He served as an F-16 pilot with the 144th Squadron until 2005. At the request of the squadron commander, he authored the squadron’s history book.
Kallach later served with the 140th Squadron at Nevatim Air Force Base. He subsequently served as an instructor at the Flight Academy at Hatzerim Air Force Base, initially as a team commander in the officers’ course and later as a course commander. He also served as a flight instructor on the A-4 Skyhawk.[5]
He returned to the 140th Squadron for the final period of his regular service, completing a total of eight years of active duty. Kallach continued to serve in the reserves, including service in a ground unit of the Israeli Air Force within the operational headquarters.
Post-Military Education
Following his discharge from active duty, Kallach pursued advanced religious studies. He studied for four years at the Bnei David post-military yeshiva in Eli, and later for eight years at Har Hamor Yeshiva in Jerusalem.
He also attended programs at the Argaman Institute, including the Herut – Israel Liberty Center. Kallach is a graduate of the Churchill Program of Strategy, Statecraft and Security, as well as the Adam Smith Program for Economics, Policy, and the Free Society.
Public Advocacy and Political Activity
Kallach became a public figure during the 2023 Israeli judicial reform controversy.[6] In response to calls by some anti-reform protesters for military reservists, including pilots, to refuse service, he organized a group of pilots who publicly declared their intention to continue serving and to return to active duty where required.[7] In 2023, he founded Pilots Against Refusal, a group advocating continued military service among Israeli Air Force personnel.[8]
During the same period, Kallach publicly criticized members affiliated with Brothers and Sisters in Arms, a group involved in protests against the judicial reform. His criticism followed interviews given by members of the group to the American news program 60 Minutes in September 2023, in which they stated that they would boycott reserve duty.[9]
Following the broadcast, Kallach raised funds for a large billboard displayed along Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway bearing the slogan “Brothers in arms do not point their weapons at brothers.” The billboard remained in place during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot shortly before the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led massacre of Israeli civilians.
During this period, Kallach founded the Netsach Israel movement, which seeks to restore sovereignty to the public.[10] The movement argues that since the 1977 electoral defeat of Israel’s historically dominant left-wing parties, a network of well-funded organizations has been established to shape public consciousness through media, academic institutions, and legal advocacy, as an alternative to electoral politics.[11]
In 2023 he was named one of the "top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life" by The Algemeiner.[12]
Personal Life
Kallach is married to Galit. The couple has eight children and lives in Jerusalem.
External Links
Netsach Israel official web site
Published articles in Makor Rishon (Hebrew)
References
- ↑ Bloch, Karen Lehrman (2025-08-06). "Restoring Zionist Values". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Fischer, Channa (2024-12-05). "Shay Kallach and the Restoration of Zionist Values". The Jewish Link. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ ארנפלד, יוסף. "עניין אישי והפעם עם שי קלך". ערוץ 7 (in עברית). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Scarr, Cindy (2025-09-30). "Fight and Flight - Mishpacha Magazine". Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ "הודח שבוע לאחר פרוץ המלחמה: "נהייתי 'סדין אדום' בחיל אוויר" - ערוץ 14 | C14". www.c14.co.il (in עברית). 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Greenger, Nurit (2025-06-01). "Shay Kallach On Jewish Identity, Interview Between Jerusalem and Los Angeles - NewsBlaze News". Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Glick, Caroline B. (2023-07-18). "Are leftist pilots capable of grounding the air force?". JNS.org. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Kempinski, Yoni. "Fighter pilot tells INN: 'Those refusing orders are confused on what Israel is here for'". Israel National News. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Glick, Caroline B. (2023-10-03). "'We the People' begin to speak". JNS.org. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Seaman, Daniel (2025-06-26). "Behind Israel's historic airstrike on Iran". JNS.org. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Isaac, David (2025-04-27). "JNS panel warns judicial overreach real threat to Israeli democracy". JNS.org. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Algemeiner, The. "The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life, 2023 | Algemeiner.com Breaking Alerts, Commentary, Insights Analysis and Blogs". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
Amid the furious political struggle in Israel over the present government's program of judicial reform, Israeli Air Force Maj. Shai Kalach founded the advocacy group "Pilots Against Refusal" as a counter to those military personnel campaigning for the refusal of military service as a form of protest. "Our group already has over 100 members, including senior and high-ranking officers such as [Yom Kippur War hero] Avigdor Kahalani," Kalach said in a 2023 interview. "Our group aims to represent the general public, the vast majority of reservists who want to serve and contribute." Explaining his wider philosophy, Kalach railed against "postmodernity, progressivism, and neo-Marxism," arguing that "although it is a very positive thing to be a free nation in our land and to create a sovereign state that will prevent us from being destroyed in another Holocaust, ultimately that's a negative purpose. The nation of Israel has a positive purpose, as is written in the Declaration of Independence, 'According to the vision of the Prophets of Israel.'"
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