The forum of reservist IDF rabbis expressed their full support this evening (Tuesday) for the appointment of Rabbi Eyal Karim as Chief Military Rabbi, in response to the media and political attacks against him since his appointment was announced.
"He is a special person, with many merits and talents," the IDF rabbis said, "it's very important to appoint someone from within the system. Often it's very difficult for outsiders with no experience to make appropriate rabbinical rulings and decisions within a military context. There is no one alive today who can do the job better than Rabbi Karim."
In response to the nature of the attacks the Rabbis said "this is no less than a question of the identity of the IDF. Rabbi Karim is just a reflection of a much deeper issue in the army, the question of identity, and the place of Judaism within the army."
"Leftist elements understood that the army is one of the most influential elements of Israeli society, so they're trying to marginalize the IDF Rabbinate in any way they can. In their eyes all methods are acceptable in pursuit of this goal, including cynical recycling of past statements while completely ignoring the tremendous talent exhibited by Rabbi Karim in every post he occupied in the army rabbinate."
According to the group, left-wingers are slandering Rabbi Karim "in order to score a few more points on the way to collapsing the IDF Rabbinate."
They emphasized the need to support Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkott in his decision to appoint Rabbi Karim. "Eisenkott is proving that he doesn't succumb to political pressure. Everyone acquainted with the inner workings of the army understands that promoting from within is crucial, and everyone who knows Rabbi Karim understands that he's the man for the job."
"We, as reservist army rabbis, will stand by Rabbi Karim's side and assist him in any way we can to strengthen him and the IDF Rabbinate," they pledged.