Former IDF brigadier general and Shikma Bnei Brak head Ofer Winter attacked ultra-Orthodox party leaders MK Moshe Gafni and MK Yitzhak Goldknopf on Monday, accusing them of harming Torah scholars by falsely equating religious garb with Torah study. Winter said he has worked to integrate Haredim into the IDF for a decade—establishing religious companies in the Givati and Paratroopers brigades—but that the military broke its promises to religious recruits, eroding trust.
Ofer Winter, a former IDF brigadier general and head of the Shikma Bnei Brak yeshiva, issued a sharp critique Monday of United Torah Judaism leaders MK Moshe Gafni and MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, accusing them of harming Torah scholars. Winter said in a statement that "not everyone wearing black and white is actually studying Torah" and called the equivalence "a lie." He insisted he believes in Torah study but argued that those the leaders decide should study must be valued at least as much as those performing national service.
Winter also addressed the military enlistment crisis that has roiled the coalition. He said that during his decade-long tenure integrating Haredim into the IDF from within the army, he established a religious company — 'Tomer' — in the Givati Brigade and another, 'Hetz,' in the Paratroopers Brigade, attracting hundreds of Haredi recruits. However, he charged that the military failed in integration by breaking rules agreed upon with religious authorities, destroying trust. He expressed optimism that "masses of Haredim" would eventually enlist, but only through love and trust.
As The Zioneer reported earlier this month, the Knesset advanced a Basic Law equating Torah study with military service in a stormy preliminary vote, drawing criticism from across the political spectrum and within the coalition. The remarks by Winter — a religious-Zionist figure respected in Haredi circles for his combat record and outreach — add a significant internal voice to the debate, framing the impasse as one of institutional failure rather than unwillingness on the part of Haredi youth.
2 developments
- DevelopingSmotrich: Gafni treats secular education more leniently than religious education
- DevelopingOfer Winter says he will not join any existing party, attacks Eisenkot in leaked recordings
- StrongIDF: All Haredim must enlist; army will not invite Rabbi Levenstein to integration talks
- StrongGafni demands binding commitment from Knesset Committee before Torah Study Basic Law vote
Source and signal
- Internal intake