A group of rabbis headed by the chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba-Hevron, Rabbi Dov Lior, published on Monday a letter in support of Lt. Col. Shlomo Eisner, who struck a provocative anarchist during a protest on Saturday.
“It was with much pain that we heard the swift condemnation in the media and, disgracefully, the condemnation that followed by the government and the army of a superior IDF officer, after he struck an anarchist who came from across the sea to identify with Israel's enemies and help them in their struggle against our country,” the rabbis wrote.
“These anarchists are initiating deliberate provocations to bring the soldiers to these situations and document them,” they added. “These condemnations of the soldiers are made out of a desire to grovel before the nations of the world. They thus serve the enemies, at home and abroad, and strike a damaging blow to the IDF.”