Jerusalem – Religious pre-military academies are creating “private militias” that listen to their rabbis over their military commanders, Avigdor Liberman charged.
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Liberman, head of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party and formerly defense minister, made the statement during an address at the annual Herzliya policy conference.
“We can’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Religious pre-military academies have prepared a series of the best, most courageous [IDF] fighters and I hope they continue to operate,” he said. “But today, the story of the religious pre-military academies is that they are developing in the direction of religious private militias.”
Liberman later clarified his remarks, saying in a Facebook post that his criticism is directed at the rabbis and not the cadets.
“I meet the graduate students of the academies and they are the salt of the earth, but in order to preserve this tremendous educational entity we must cut them off from the Smotriches and their ilk,” he wrote. Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently said Israel should follow Torah law and “I work for God.”
Liberman also said in his remarks that when students at one military academy were asked if their rabbi and their commander gave them contradictory instructions, who would they obey. Some said their rabbi.
He also said that the haredi Orthodox and national-religious parties are “in the hands of extremists” and will sit in the opposition in the next government. Liberman refused to sit in a government with haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, parties following the April elections, making it impossible for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government.
A lil secret to these soldiers. If u enlisted in the IDF, you can listen to your Rabbi or ur commanders. They’re all the same. Heresy runs thru their veins, nothing spiritual.
Some of the soldiers might b tiniks so I wont be judgmental but bottom line;the army, Rabbis, commanders are all the same.
Hey Lieberman! U believe in ur own self. Anyone running the world besides u?! What a heretical government!
The jewish troops threw out religious from Gaza and terrorist territory was created
I never heard of Bezalel Smotrich until just now. What a nut.
Such HATRED?!?!?!
why doesn’t that drunk russian go back to russia? Who needs him here?
Hashem gave it but actually took it away and were waiting fo redemption may it be soon.
If youre talking about the Lubaviche Rebbe, then please go back a tiny bit in time and see for yourself what the holy Meharshab said about the Zionists. You’d be scared to call it a Jewish Land.
In short; IT DOES NOT BELONG TO US NOW. WE ARE IN GALUS.