Parents of the haredi Netzach Yehuda brigade soldiers slammed Israeli television anchorwoman Oshrat Kotler for her remark about their sons.
"This is an unfortunate and ugly statement," they said. "Our sons joined the IDF out of a sense of mission, of Zionism. They chose a difficult and challenging track and they did not ask for concessions. These are the best of Israel's sons, and they walk upright despite the fact that they lost two of their comrades. Kotler sleeps well at night because of them, yet she wants to determine their fate."
Earlier, Kotler slammed Nahal Haredi soldiers and their parents.
"They send their children to the army, to the territories, and they get 'animal people.' That's the result of the occupation," she wrote in an article on two Netzach Yehuda soldiers, two of whom were killed near the Givat Assaf Junction.
Several other Netzach Yehuda soldiers are suspected of hitting Palestinian Authority Arabs while arresting suspected terrorists involved in the attack.
Nahal Haredi was founded a few years ago by Los Angeles businessman David Hager in order to integrate the young haredi men into the Israel Defense Force on the mission of defending the Land of Israeli. Nahal Haredi started with a few dozens of soldiers, but today includes thousands.
One of the main battalions of Nahal Haredi is Netzach Yehuda, which operates in Judea and Samaria and takes part in combat and operative missions
New Right Chairman Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted, "Oshrat, you're confused. IDF soldiers give their lives so that you can sleep well at night. Animal people are the terrorists who murder children in their beds, [murder] a young girl who is hiking or a complete family traveling on the road. IDF soldiers are our children, our strength. Apologize."
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu slammed Kotler, saying, "I'm proud of the IDF soldiers and I love them very much. Oshrat Kotler's words deserve every condemnation."
Channel 13 said, "Oshrat Kotler is an opinionated journalist who expresses her own opinions sometimes, just like other journalists... She has expressed only her own opinion."