Haredi leader Rabbi Dov Lando sparked controversy in a conversation with students in which he addressed the issue of the war and the many soldiers following the Religious Zionist ideals.
According to a report on Channel I24, a student asked the rabbi about young men who see the national-religious public as "sacrificing their lives," in his words, and who study Torah alongside military service. According to him, some feel as a result that "we are not okay."
In response the rabbi asked, "What are they doing?", and the student replied that they "study a lot of Torah and, on the other hand, go and are killed in defense of the people and the land." The rabbi replied that, "They are killed because we do not study enough."
Rabbi Lando further added that, "It is possible to save even more," and sharply criticized the spiritual leadership of the Religious Zionist community, "They are killed because their rabbis teach a distorted Torah."