Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday strongly denounced the assault on female soldiers in Bnei Brak, urging haredi leaders to issue an unequivocal condemnation of the incident.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News, Smotrich stressed that political disagreements over the conscription law must never spill over into violence or the humiliation of uniformed service members. He said no dispute can justify such behavior.
“The images from Bnei Brak are inconceivable," Smotrich said. “They are unrelated and cannot be related to any argument or disagreement." He described the attack as “criminality, anarchism, pure and simple violence that must not be accepted under any circumstances."
The minister called on the Israel Police to swiftly identify and prosecute those responsible. “I expect the police to lay their hands on this small handful today, bring them to trial, and apply the full severity of the law," he said.
At the same time, Smotrich appealed directly to rabbis and haredi members of the Knesset to speak out. He urged the haredi leadership to clearly denounce those involved and to make it known that violence is unacceptable.
Smotrich added that he believes most of the haredi public and its leaders respect the IDF and its personnel, including female soldiers and commanders. While acknowledging the ongoing dispute over military conscription, he emphasized that such disagreements must be handled through dialogue and lawful means. “There is no connection between a debate over conscription and this kind of violence and harassment," he said, calling the incident a sacrilege that cannot be tolerated.