Amital Bareli, Chotam director
Amital Bareli, Chotam directorChotam

The heads of the Hotam organization which is dedicated to strengthening Jewish presence in the State of Israel sent a letter Wednesday to Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot in response to the "senior officer" who compared Hotam to the radical left-wing organization Breaking the Silence.

The senior officer had referred to the Hotam campaign against female service in the IDF and said that "this is a ridiculous campaign based on ignorance- stupidity based on ignorance. Hotam is like Breaking the Silence. This is not an organization we talk with."

The media referred to the senior officer without mentioning his name but Hotam say that it referred to the Chief of Staff and therefore they addressed him in their letter, quoted here by Arutz Sheva.

"We wish to protest this ridiculous comparison...the maker of the comparison must have overlooked the chasm between us and the anti-Israel organizations."

Chotam stated that their goal is to strengthen the IDF and that their criticism and publications stem from the conviction that the changes in the IDF harm its abilities and its moral fiber. They stressed that their criticism is that of "brothers and partners and not that of naysayers and hostile elements opposed to the IDF and to our national home, so that the comparison is both illogical and insulting."

Due to the mixed gender directives and the rise in religious females enlistment to the iDF, the Chotam organization initiated a widespread campaign in which they described the difficult situations facing religious girls serving in the IDF and also started a new hotline offering guidance to high school girls.

Chotam said they would be happy to present to the Chief of Staff information relating to the problems facing girls joining the IDF and protested the senior officer's statement that "they are knowledgable girls who now what is good for them." Chotam responded that "despite the fact that one cannot belittle the wisdom of those girls who choose to enlist, the expression "knowledgable girls who now what is good for them" refers to girls who have eschewed the customs and values of the society in which they grew up and who ignored the recommendations and guidance of their parents and teachers who almost unanimously prefer them to do National Service.

Chotam concluded by inviting the Chief of Staff to meet and discuss with them topics relating to the identity of the IDF, since the issues arising recently are a threat to the character and functioning of the IDF.