Aryeh Deri said the IDF does not want Haredim
Aryeh Deri, leader of Israel’s Shas party, said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) do not want to accept Haredim — ultra-Orthodox servicemen — for military service and prefer a secular army. He said this in an interview for a podcast on Thursday, The Jerusalem Post reports.
According to Deri, the idea of ultra-Orthodox military service creates a “very big headache” for the army. He also said that he does not intend to call on Haredim to enlist and will allow the army to resolve this issue on its own.
Naftali Bennett’s reaction
Former Israeli Prime Minister and leader of the Together party Naftali Bennett criticized Deri’s remarks. He said that the Shas leader is harming IDF servicemen and also accused Deri of lying and looking for excuses.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Bennett said that the army is in urgent need of soldiers. He also said that those who do not take part in defending the country should not make decisions on its security.
Statements regarding Netanyahu
Separately, Bennett accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of spreading slander against IDF commanders. This came after Netanyahu said that the military allegedly did not wake him on the morning of the Hamas attack on October 7 because they feared he would deploy the air force and mobilize the entire army.
Netanyahu also said that in that case he would not have allowed the attackers to approach the fences and that the course of events could have been different had he been woken up.
