Israel Friedman, editor-in-chief of the Yated Ne'eman newspaper, sought over the past weekend to clarify the haredi position in light of the ongoing war and the complex issue of military conscription.
“Yated Ne'eman is not a newspaper, it is a mouthpiece,” he declared in an interview with Makor Rishon, emphasizing that every sharp headline published is backed by a clear rabbinic directive.
“I’m not the free press. I am the voice of the Torah sages. For people to read me, I need to be engaging, but even when I write a political headline, I pray to have a good newspaper that will be able to fulfill its role and make the Torah sages' voices heard.”
Referring to a July 2024 front-page headline “Declaration of War,” which appeared after Rabbi Dov Lando called on yeshiva students not to report to IDF draft offices, Friedman stressed that Rabbi Lando, “wanted the message to be precise: It was a declaration of war.”
“The intention was that the State is the one who declared war on the haredim,” he claimed.
Regarding the Draft Law, Friedman alleged: “When it comes to preserving the Jewish people, the majority of the population in in the Land of Israel is evading the draft. There is no equality in burden-sharing. The soldiers who are fighting have taken it upon themselves to preserve the Israeli nation, to protect bodies, but they are not engaged in preserving the Jewish people.”
Asked about the soldiers fighting in Gaza, he responded: “Going to fight in Gaza is not preserving the Jewish people; it is preserving the Israeli people. When it comes to preserving the Jewish people, only we contribute.”
He added: “The army says it lacks combat soldiers, and I say: we lack Torah learners! We must further increase the learning in the yeshivas.”
Friedman also warned that the haredi parties might not join with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the next election.
“It’s no secret that in our political positions, we do not belong to the Right,” he said. “The moment that joining together endangers the core of the Jewish nation's existence, which is Torah learners, the question will return to the table of the Torah sages, and I cannot tell you what will happen. Nothing is out of the question.”