During his tenure as Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon had to order many budget cuts and included in the cuts were high school military academies around Israel. After leaving the post, replaced by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Lieberman has to give the final approval for the cuts.

In his recent decision, Lieberman has approved the closure of Ohr Etzion, the only religious military academy, while permitting the non-religious one to continue operating, namely the academy in Haifa. It is reported the decision was made by Defense Ministry Director-General Udi Adam and approved by Lieberman.

The dati leumi community’s response was immediate and audible, accusing the Defense Ministry of taking another step to prevent the growth and rise of religious officers in the military. Some feel this has been the case since IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gadi Eizenkott has sharply reduced the authority of the IDF Rabbinate and this appears to be a continuation of this policy.

Officials in the Defense Ministry insist the fact that Ohr Etzion is religious has absolutely nothing to do with the decision, which was made “strictly upon professional considerations”.

The dati leumi community is not accepting this and leading the battle is Bayit Yehudi party leader Education Minister Naftali Bennett.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)