Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid (Reuters)
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Sunday that the army needs to recruit religious Jews (Haredim), in the midst of the aggression against Gaza, which has entered its sixth month.
He added, "We all bear the same burden, and those who do not enlist will not receive money from the state."
He added that if 66,000 Haredi youth are recruited, the army will obtain 105 new battalions necessary for Israel's security.
This position comes a day after statements by the chief rabbi of the Sephardim (Eastern Jews) in Israel regarding his rejection of military conscription in the occupation army.
The Chief Rabbi of the Sephardic Jews in Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, said that if the religious people were forced into military service, they would all travel abroad.
Israeli Channel 12 quoted Youssef as saying, “If they force us to join the army, we will all travel outside the country, buy tickets and go,” referring to religious people.
He added, denouncing, "There is no such thing. The secularists are putting the state at stake," and continued, "They must understand this, all the secularists who do not understand this matter."
Reactions
Yitzhak Yosef's statements sparked reactions within the Israeli government and the war council.
Minister in the Israeli government’s war council, Benny Gantz, said that everyone should participate in military service in this “difficult time,” including the Haredim, in response to Rabbi Yosef’s statements.
Gantz added that the words of the chief Sephardic rabbi “represent moral harm to the state and Israeli society,” as he put it.
For his part, the head of the "Israel Our Home" party, Avigdor Lieberman, accused Rabbi Yitzhak of endangering Israel's security.
As for the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, he said, “We believe in resolving the conscription issue through understanding, and serving in the army is a great privilege for the Jew who defends himself and his country.”
Source: Al Jazeera