Opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday that “people who say that they won’t serve in an army of a non-democratic state is not called insubordination.”
Lapid’s statement, made at the start of a Yesh Atid party meeting on Monday, came on the background of the resumption of a public campaign calling on army reservists to refuse call-up orders due to the government’s discussion on amending the “reasonableness” clause, a clause that even former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak said he would be willing to change.
In contrast, Benny Gantz said at the beginning of his party meeting: “I’m against refusals. I appreciate people voicing their concern but refusal should remain outside the rules of the game.”
Right-wing journalist Yinon Magal posted a letter on Tuesday that he received from a Chareidi man who said that a secular man accosted him in a supermarket in central Israel, cursing him for the fact that not all Chareidim serve in the army.
“I answered him that since yesterday, I support the position of Yesh Atid,” the man wrote.
“He asked what I meant and I explained: ‘Yesterday I heard Lapid say that he understands whoever refuses to serve in a non-democratic state. And the meaning of democracy is open to interpretation. And in my view, the state is not democratic as long as the judicial reform doesn’t pass and therefore I refuse to serve in the army.”
“He cursed me a few more times and continued on his way.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
This is what many chareidi have been saying. Just substitute “Non-Democratic” with “Non-religious”.
Great.. I’m glad we can finally agree on forced conscription or this hypocrite will now have to eat his words.
Amazing. So we better stop protesting by refusing the army, because otherwise we’ll have to stop harassing the Chareidim about that…
It might not be the best thing if the judicial reform did pass for the charedim but the only answer is that we never did want or respect any of the medinah and it is a very sad thing that no country but Israel is taken then to an army only to destroy the Torah from them
Just now in Russia the Wagner group almost killed Putin cause they had an air field this is also if that take torah from yidden with the army we will go against it also
The bal hatanya spied for the tsar against the French emancipation this was to keep the yidden them from shmad we should also
Leftism 101: If I don’t get my way it’s undemocratic.
We have to learn from there guts for there world to use it for spiritual
Lapid, what ever comes out of your mother is evil, whatever street you walk on needs to be washed , whatever you do must be undone…..only Death will not be undone….for anyone of us…..shut your mouth
Sounds like “election denial”.
Georgeg
Yes but thats only when the right do it