The Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today (Tuesday) discussed the phenomenon of violence against haredi soldiers, initiated by MK Amir Ohana (Likud), chairman of the IDF manpower subcommittee.
"I will continue to criticize the over-restrictive interpretation by the Justice system of the term 'incitement to violence', but the blood that will be spilled here is not on their hands - it is on the hands of Litzman and his men who allow incitement to rage unchecked," Ohana argued.
He said that many complaints are filed by haredi recruits for incitement, "law enforcement agencies, headed by the State Attorney's Office, decide to close their eyes and shut these files on the pretext of 'lack of public interest.' That's a lie. The public has great interest in all IDF soldiers, that they not be harmed, and I demand that the State Prosecutor's Office wake up to the lives of our haredi soldiers before we all regret it."
MK Ohana added, "We must follow the money trail. We saw that the leader of the Satmar Hasidism undertook to fund the 'fight against recruitment' with $4 million. The police and the State Prosecutor's Office must also, in view of threats of terrorism and violence, investigate and, if necessary, arrest him if it turns out that this money is used to incite violence "
Yaakov Vider, chairman of the haredi organization in the Likud, said that "despite the many promises made by the police and the State Prosecutor's Office, incitement and violence against haredi IDF soldiers have not yet been eradicated. This week, haredi communities published ads promising a prize for every boy or child who attacks a haredi soldier as part of an aggressive campaign financed by foreign money and aimed at destroying the lives of IDF soldiers and their families. The incompetence and tolerance of the legal authorities must be stopped, because the blood that will be spilled will be on their hands!"
MK Motti Yogev, member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that it was impossible to accept the incitement against haredi soldiers."The peace of IDF soldiers is a supreme value for us, religious Zionism and for the State of Israel.I, of course, support and encourage Torah study, but there is no justification in the Torah of Israel for violence against a Jew, let alone an IDF soldier.
"However, it is important to know the reality.This is a small minority in haredi society.Haredi society as a whole, even if it does not enlist in the army, is sympathetic and supportive of IDF soldiers," Yogev stressed.
MK Avi Dichter (Likud), chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, promised that "this issue will not leave the committee and the Knesset until we know that in the haredi world, anyone who wants to enlist in the IDF brings honor to himself and the entire haredi community, and the abusive minority is criminal for all intents and purposes. It is unacceptable, to the law and to the Knesset.
"If the enforcement authorities fail to deal with this, we as a committee will not hesitate to bring in the authorities responsible for state security," Dichter said.