"Conscription" ignites a new confrontation between the Haredim and Religious Zionism

SadaNews - The newspaper "Maariv" reported a "new storm" in Israel, between the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) and the "Religious Zionism" party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

"Maariv" noted that Bezalel Smotrich criticized the former chief rabbi of Eastern Jews, Yitzhak Yosef, following his strong remarks against Rabbi Tamir Granot, head of the religious school "Orot Shaul" for students of the national religious stream and father of Captain Amitai Granot, who was killed in combat in the north.

Smotrich's response came after a recording was published on the Haredi radio station "Kol Hai", in which Rabbi Yosef attacked Granot for his positions on conscripting students from religious schools.

In the recording, Rabbi Yosef was heard saying: "There is a person called a rabbi, I don’t know if he is a rabbi, Granot, head of a religious school within the national religious camp. How does he speak on television against us? Doesn’t he fear insulting the students of the rabbis? He says 'everyone to the army'. Why everyone to the army? We study the Torah. Just as there is an air force, there is the Lord’s army; they sit and study the Torah and protect all of the people of Israel."

His remarks sparked angry reactions in the public and among representatives of "Religious Zionism". The head of the Religious Zionism party, Bezalel Smotrich, strongly condemned the statements, saying: "Rabbi Tamir Granot is a scholar and a man of good character who sanctifies the name of the Lord publicly. He lost his heroic son Amitai in the war, and since then he has devoted his days to spreading light, unity, and love. Whoever allows himself to insult him - insults himself, profaning the name of the Lord publicly, and spreading hatred and gratuitous strife, and we will have no portion with him."

The minister added that he is "proud to lead a community that has the Torah with righteous behavior and knows how to respect even those who think differently and manages disputes for the sake of heaven".

This sharp confrontation between Smotrich and Rabbi Yosef joins the escalating tension between the Haredi public and "Religious Zionism" regarding the issue of conscripting students from religious schools.

This issue has recently become particularly explosive against the backdrop of the prolonged war and public discussions regarding the burden-sharing, alongside the coalition government pushing a law for exemption from military service for students of Haredi religious schools.