Rabbi Dov Landau, leader of the Lithuanian-Haredi community, said Monday that it would have been better if the State of Israel had not been established and the British Mandate had continued, and called the state one of 'apostasy and heresy,' according to a report. He also said religious Zionist soldiers are being killed because of a 'distorted Torah.'
Rabbi Dov Landau, the 93-year-old leader of the Lithuanian non-Hasidic Haredi community, made two sharp statements on Monday evening. In the first, he said the secular Israeli public today is not the secular public he once knew, and that the state has become one of 'apostasy and heresy.' In a second statement he said it would have been preferable for the State of Israel not to be established and to remain under the British Mandate, and that religious Zionist soldiers are being killed because of a 'distorted Torah.' The remarks were published by Israeli media.
This is not the first time Landau has weighed in on the Haredi draft controversy. As The Zioneer previously reported, Landau recently sparked backlash when a recording surfaced in which he appeared to criticize religious Zionist soldiers. He later claimed his words were taken out of context. The new remarks go further, explicitly questioning the legitimacy of the state and its secular character. The statements are expected to deepen the rift between the Haredi and religious Zionist communities, especially as the government debates mandatory military service for yeshiva students.
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