Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in a rare interview with the Haredi outlet Kikar HaShabbat, sharply criticized the Haredi leadership's demand that the IDF commit to ensuring Haredi soldiers return from service as religiously observant. Bennett called the demand 'absurd' and ruled out political cooperation with the Haredi parties.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett broke his public silence toward the Haredi sector in a Thursday evening interview with Kikar HaShabbat reporter Yishai Cohen. Bennett sharply attacked the Haredi leadership's demands regarding military conscription and ruled out any political cooperation with Haredi parties.
Bennett specifically rejected the demand that the IDF provide a guarantee that Haredi soldiers will return from service as religiously observant. 'I need to give an insurance certificate to the Haredi mother that her son will return from the army as Haredi? That's an absurd demand,' he said. Bennett argued that every individual bears personal responsibility for their faith, while the IDF must provide the proper conditions to maintain it.
The interview is the latest in a series of forceful statements by Bennett on the Haredi draft issue. As The Zioneer reported, Bennett previously posted 'must dismantle the Haredim' and accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of running a 'pathetic spin' on the conscription issue. Bennett has also warned that the current government's policies on the exemption are an existential risk to Israeli society.
The Haredi draft remains one of the most contentious issues in Israeli politics, with the government seeking legislative solutions to the growing manpower crisis in the IDF.
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