In an interview with the Washington Post Sunday edition, 13 Sivan, Education Minister Naftali Bennett reaffirms his opposition to giving away lands to the PA (Palestinian Authority) in an agreement with Israel. He explains “there is no perfect solution. When you’re in a region which is disintegrating into bribes, and you’ve got ISIS butchering people, and Hamas and Hizbullah and Jabhat al-Nusra knocking on your fences, the last thing you do is give up land…”
Bennett is then asked if he is also responsible for educating the “ultra-Orthodox”, to which he response, “Yes, I am responsible for the education of 2.2 million Israel children, including the Arabs, and Druse, and Bedouin and ultra-Orthodox and secular. They are all my children…”
When asked about chareidim serving in the IDF, Bennett explains “Many of them didn’t work, and most of them didn’t serve. My position was that it’s way more important to get them jobs, and it’s important, but less so, to get them to serve. Why? Because our army has been doing fine for 67 years without the ultra-Orthodox. Our economy will not do fine if there’s a growing part of the population that doesn’t work, doesn’t pay taxes and takes welfare”.
And finally, when asked if he wants to become prime minister, Bennett responded, I want to do good for Israel. My philosophy is let’s do good stuff, and let’s see what happens. And que sera, sera”.
Read the entire interview online at the Washington Post.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
The members of the observant community DO work (and purchase food clothes, and gas, and pay for utilities, etc.). They would pay millions in taxes as well if the government would allow them to work legally. But since they don’t serve in the IDF (legally), they cannot work legally. I don’t know why more is not made of this point. Don’t draft them, after all they are neither needed nor wanted. Just make them legal. The reason they don’t/can’t is simple. This way it is a win/win for the state. If they serve they assimilate. If they don’t, they starve. And either way they are the enemy of the state.
He would also do a better job working then serve the country
The region is disintegrating into tribes, not bribes. Do we have a proofreader in the house???
an Israeli Yid
If the zionists were to abolish conscription (and switch to a western style professional/volunteer army, similar to almost all major developed democracies), a large number of hareidim who current work only within the hareidi community (and are nominally considered to be learning full time) would enter the economy as both employees and entrepreneurs (as is the case in America).
Alternatively, they could exampt any hareidi who claims to follow the teachings of the Satmarer (ויואל משה) and is therefore a conscientious objector, with the same economic impact.
The fact they they don’t do so suggests the motivation behind the move to draft hareidim is an attempt to break the hareidi community and force them to either leave Eretz Yisrael or become zionists.