Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of maintaining "complete silence" after anti-army remarks made during an ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) protest, including claims that "the army teaches the gravest sins" and that "Israel is impure."
The criticism comes amid escalating tensions over the conscription of Haredi Jews into the military, which faces manpower shortages after more than 1,000 days of fighting on multiple fronts.
Hundreds of Haredi protesters gathered in the city of Bnei Brak on Monday night to demonstrate against the detention of ultra-Orthodox men who refused compulsory military service.
During the rally, Rabbi Aryeh Yezdi criticised Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and urged religious seminary students not to comply with military draft orders.
‘The army is desecrating the name of god’
According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Yezdi told the demonstrators: "The army teaches people to commit the gravest sins in this impure state. This entire army exists to desecrate the name of God."
He also took aim at Zamir, saying: "May the name of the accursed chief of staff be erased from memory... Do not fall into this trap. Do not join the army."
Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said the gathering was organised "to protest against the judges and all the oppressive authorities."
"When a yeshiva student is imprisoned in such a disgraceful manner, it is an insult to the honour of the Torah. That is why we have gathered," he told the crowd.
Rabbi Shabtai Levy argued that "the reason we have not defeated Hamas and Hezbollah is because the Torah is not being respected."
‘Government of cowards’
Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised the government's response in a post on X.
"The Haredim are inciting against our fighters, spilling the blood of the chief of staff," he wrote.
Lapid said Netanyahu and his ministers "are silent as fish."
"Not a word of condemnation, not a single arrest warrant for incitement to violence,” he added.
Netanyahu has relied on the political support of Haredi parties and has sought agreements with them on legislation they demand, particularly a law exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service, a move strongly opposed by the opposition.
Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
The Haredi community has continued protesting compulsory military service since Israel's Supreme Court ruled on June 25 2024, that ultra-Orthodox men must be drafted and that state funding should be withheld from religious institutions whose students refuse military service.
Senior rabbis, whose rulings are widely regarded by Haredim as religiously binding, have repeatedly urged followers to reject conscription and even "tear up" draft notices.
The ultra-Orthodox community makes up about 13 percent of Israel's population of more than 10 million. Many oppose military service on religious grounds, arguing that they dedicate their lives to Torah study and that integration into secular society threatens their identity.
Since October 2023, Israel has conducted military offensives across multiple fronts, including the war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, air strikes in Yemen and ongoing incursions into Syria.
Israel has occupied Palestinian territories and parts of Lebanon and Syria for decades, while rejecting withdrawal from those territories and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in line with relevant UN resolutions.
