MK (Yesh Atid) Elazar Stern on Monday, 11 Menachem Av commented on a directive given by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gadi Eizenkott, instructing him to stop all operational cooperation between IDF soldiers and children of foreign aliens and foreign workers.
Speaking to Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), Stern explained “Charity begins at home” is not a relevant argument, for if so, why is the IDF travel to Turkey to assist when tragedy strikes? Stern calls on Lieberman not to interfere, as the children do not have a political view and the minister should make this a political issue. “When you look at a child, you do not ask him what his father does” he added.
Stern, a retired IDF major-general served as chief of the IDF Personnel Branch, stating “I don’t suggest suppressing the humanistic spirit of IDF commanders for this is how we succeed keeping the best of the commanders”.
Stern stressed his position does not come from a lack of understanding of the complexity of the problem regarding southern Tel Aviv residents. “I almost got beat in southern Tel Aviv but despite this I say the children must be taken out of the playing field”. Stern was hinting at his realization that southern Tel Aviv has become a bastion of asylum-seekers, home to many illegals from Sudan and other African countries.
Stern feels the directive given to Eizenkott by Lieberman “is a trap” and he calls on Lieberman to back off. “I call on the Defense Minister not to fall in the trap being set by his right-wing friends to topple him. He should pull his hands from these extremely sensitive issues that involve the IDF regarding social matters”.
“The IDF Chief does not instruct his commanders to volunteer in one place or another. The Defense Minister is making a mistake entering this matter regarding where IDF personnel can volunteer by tainting this politically”, concluded Stern.
Last week Lieberman commented on the IDF volunteerism program involving the Bialik-Rogozin School in southern Tel Aviv, which has a diverse population of 1,200 students. The students are from parents who are migrants and working class homes as well as children from asylum-seeking parents. Lieberman announced “charity begins at home”, suggesting if IDF personnel are seeking a volunteer project, they should consider assisting Holocaust survivors and not asylum-seekers.
In one program, members of Sayeret Matkal took part in a fun day for the school’s students. Other programs include IDF personnel tutoring students. Officials explain many of the students have Israeli ID cards.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
Stern: “Charity begins at home is not a relevant argument, for if so, why is the IDF travel to Turkey to assist when tragedy strikes?”
Well, Mr. Stern, Israel does travel to Turkey and other countries all the time to assist them instead of assisting their own brothers in Israels.
Stern is another corrupt nasty guy who’s forever trying to secularize religious Jews in the army, forcing chillul Shabbos, and forcing them to listen to women singing, and other evil, immoral, sinful stuff. Stern should be thrown out head first.