An event described as a "Selichot show" and organized by the IDF Manpower Directorate took place last night (Monday) at the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem.
Selichot are a special series of prayers recited from the month of Elul and until Yom Kippur to prepare for the increased holiness of the holidays. They include various liturgical songs and many congregations sing them together for a commmunally uplifting experience.
Thousands of reserve soldiers were invited to the show, which featured performances by singers such as Eviatar Banai, Shuli Rand, Chaim Moshe, Amir Benayoun and the Revivo Project.
However, at the beggining of the evening, a women's military choir performed in front of the audience, surprising many of those present. The Jewish laws governing modesty prohibit men from listening to women singing.
Soldiers at the event said, "There are tens of thousands of soldiers here, most of them religious, we are shocked by the insult that senior Manpower Directorate officials pulled on us. This is really a slap in the face to us and our families after two years of reserve duty."
It is important to clarify that this involved only two songs at the opening of the event, when the majority of the audience had not yet arrived, and the remainder of the performance proceeded in line with public sensitivities.
The organization "Soldiers' Wives for the Sanctity of the Camp" together with the organization Hotam said in response, "Time and again it is proven that senior IDF officials do not respect the observant, despite the fact that they give their lives in large numbers in the most combat units. There is no chance to speak of recruiting haredim in such a situation, as long as there is such deep and blatant contempt for the observant in the IDF. Defense Minister Israel Katz of Likud must wake up and address these events."