A Thursday morning article in the haredi Hamevaser newspaper slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for the suspension of the next military operation in Gaza due to the arrest of haredi draft dodgers.
The article, published on the eve of a crucial Cabinet meeting regarding a possible full occupation of Gaza, argues that the State has no spiritual mandate to go to war as long as it continues to "persecute Torah scholars."
"While the Cabinet meeting is convening and preparations are underway for a broad and sensitive military move, a serious situation is unfolding in parallel: the systemic persecution of Torah scholars," the author, A. Lamal, claims.
Regarding the arrest of yeshiva students, the article reads: "In the dead of night, law enforcement forces raid the homes of yeshiva students, arresting boys simply for sitting and learning. There are surveillance operations, data collection, threats, sanctions - all in the same country that should instead be seeking Divine mercy."
The author questions: "Is there really a mandate to launch a broad military operation, with all the risks it entails, when at the same time, we are hurting the spiritual protectors of the Jewish people? It's as if the Prime Minister, at the Cabinet meeting tonight, would approve the operation with one hand while with the other hand signing an order not to provide helmets to the soldiers."
Quotes Netanyahu himself, the author said: "Even the Prime Minister recently admitted this, during the war against Iran: 'The most important assistance is Divine help.'"
"In this situation, we cannot conduct the operation. Not because there is no enemy, but because we have no merits. And there is no defense without merit."
Concluding the article, the author appealed to Netanyahu, urging: "Therefore, Mr. Prime Minister, not as a shout but as a plea: Stop. You have no mandate. Not because of the left, not because of the army, not because of the world... But if you believe - as you say - in Divine assistance, if you know that there is no victory without merits, then now, a moment before [you begin], is the time to stop."