A rabbi speaking at a Sephardic rally in Bnei Brak against the arrest of Haredi soldiers cursed the IDF chief of staff, saying "May his name and memory be erased." The remark echoes a similar curse by Rabbi Aryeh Yezdi earlier in the week.
A rabbi at a Sephardic rally in Bnei Brak on Tuesday night cursed IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, saying "Accursed, may his name and memory be erased." The rally was organized to protest the military's arrest of Haredi soldiers. The remark follows a similar curse by Rabbi Aryeh Yezdi on Monday at a Bnei Brak rally, which Defense Minister Israel Katz condemned as incitement. As The Zioneer reported, Yezdi called the military a "defiled state" and said the chief of staff "sent a soldier to prison because he placed a 'Moshiach' note." The new incident extends a growing public confrontation between parts of the Haredi leadership and IDF command amid the widening draft crisis.
Earlier on Monday, at the same Bnei Brak location, Rabbi Yezdi first cursed the chief of staff, saying "the accursed chief of staff, may his name and memory be erased," and called the military a "defiled state" that educates toward grave sins, a remark broadcast on Channel 12. By Tuesday night, Yezdi repeated the curse and specifically linked it to the imprisonment of a soldier over a "Moshiach" note. The Defense Minister condemned the initial statement as crossing red lines. The new rabbi's curse on Tuesday night amplifies the pattern, though no official condemnation has been reported yet for the latest remarks.
As The Zioneer reported on Monday, a separate Haredi rally in Bnei Brak that evening saw protesters chant "Deri traitor" amid anger over the collapse of a bill to bar Red Cross visits to Nukhba terrorists. That rally, while separate, underscores heightened tensions within the Haredi public over state military and judicial actions, as the draft crisis continues to simmer.
It remains unclear whether either rabbi's remarks will prompt further official responses or legal consequences. The identification of the Sephardic rabbi from Tuesday night, and his specific affiliation, has not been confirmed in available reports.
6 developments
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