MK Galit Distel Atbaryan (Likud) on Thursday held a special Knesset session on the matter of haredi enlistment in the IDF.
At the session, entitled, "Voices from Within: Haredim Speak About the IDF Draft," Distel Atbaryan said, "We have in our midst a community in real pain, which has zero platform to make its voice heard. I want to ask forgiveness, in my name and in the name of many of Israel's citizens, for the fact that you have been persecuted for the past two years, and especially since October 7."
"Many of you are afraid to leave home because of the incitement. There is incitement and violence from people who went out to your streets and to your homes, and hit [you] with sticks, just because you are haredim. And for that I ask forgiveness."
She added, "There will not be any effective enlistment of haredim if it is done without you and behind your backs, and nothing will be solved without mutual trust, without persecution and without sanctions by the IDF and all the other systems."
"The secular public must understand that many of the haredim who enlisted in the IDF did not return to their communities, because the IDF did not keep its promise" to adapt military service to the haredi community's needs. "No one has the right to push themselves into your education and culture. Only by means of a mediation process which respects you will we see a change. We are here to make your voice heard."