Deputy Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan
Deputy Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-DahanFlash 90

Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan (Jewish Home) called on haredi lawmakers on Wednesday to condemn attacks against soldiers from the Haredi community.

While responding to a question regarding the series of violent attacks targeting haredi soldiers, Ben-Dahan argued that the silence of haredi politicians in the face of such incidents was tantamount to an endorsement of the violence.  

“I’m calling on the representatives of the haredi parties: explicitly condemn the verbal and physical violence against haredi soldiers and those involved in recruiting them,” said Ben-Dahan.

Ben-Dahan also called upon police to be more aggressive in pursuing those targeting haredi soldiers.

“We cannot accept a situation where Israeli soldiers, serving the state, will be attacked within the State of Israel by civilians.  This is especially true when the soldiers being attacked have been drafted into army service and are obliged by law to serve.”

The targeting of haredi soldiers by radical members of the haredi community has increased dramatically in the wake of the controversial draft law, which limited the exemptions from army service given to full-time yeshiva students.   

Some anti-Zionist hardliners within the haredi community launched the so-called “Hardak” campaign to delegitimize and harass haredi soldiers and recruitment officers.