United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf said in a statement Wednesday that 'the whole country is a blazing fire' and that 'the day will come when we will turn the state around, but that's at a later stage.' He asked supporters if they think 'they will make us into slaves,' according to Israel Hayom, escalating rhetoric in the ultra-Orthodox community's protest campaign.
United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzhak Goldknopf escalated his public rhetoric Wednesday afternoon, warning that 'the day will come when we will turn the state around' and describing the country as 'a blazing fire.' Speaking in a statement carried by Israel Hayom, Goldknopf asked supporters: 'Do you think they will make us into slaves?' — a reference to grievances over state policies affecting the ultra-Orthodox community, including draft exemptions and budget issues.
The remarks follow a similar threat Goldknopf made on Kol B'Ramah radio at 14:21, when he said 'the day will come when we will turn the prisons into yeshivas' and called for nationwide protests. Both statements, coming within minutes, reflect growing tension between parts of the Haredi leadership and the coalition government. The Committee to Save the Torah, a protest group active in the ultra-Orthodox community, previously warned it would block central routes and that 'the country will burn,' as reported by The Zioneer on June 10. The precise venue or timing of planned protests has not yet been announced.
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