The sheer audacity of MK Yitzhak Pindrus's comments at the Israel Democracy Institute conference earlier this week goes beyond mere political tone-deafness - it's a moral outrage that demands our collective anger.
Let's be precise about what was said: When confronted about the disproportionate casualties among Religious Zionist soldiers, Pindrus admitted he couldn't "look them in the eye" - but then immediately twisted the knife by suggesting these heroes are "paying a price" by "leaving religion." This wasn't a slip of the tongue. This was a calculated defense of the ultra-Orthodox community's refusal to serve.
The timing couldn't be more offensive. Just as Staff Sgt. Yuval Shoham, a Religious Zionist from Jerusalem, was being laid to rest after falling in Jabalia, Pindrus was using the supposed religious decline of soldiers to justify his community's continued exemption from service. As MK Meirav Cohen rightfully pointed out - what about the price of leaving life itself?
And while our soldiers are fighting on multiple fronts in this 14-month war, what's happening behind the scenes? Prime Minister Netanyahu is calling Housing Minister Goldknopf from his hospital bed, promising to advance a conscription law to maintain these very exemptions. This while the head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuli Edelstein, insists that the IDF's needs must come first.
The disconnect is staggering. As MK Matan Kahana put it, this shows our "Haredi brothers don't even begin to understand what we are going through." But it's worse than that - it shows some of their leaders don't even care to try.
The ultra-Orthodox parties are now threatening to vote against budget laws unless their demands for continued exemptions are met, even after the High Court's unanimous June ruling struck down the blanket exemption system. They're willing to risk governmental stability in the middle of a war to avoid sharing the burden of defending our nation.
This isn't just about policy disagreements anymore. This is about basic respect for those who give everything to protect ALL of us - including those who refuse to serve.
What I can't understand is why MK Pindrus thought it was a good idea to say any of this – sometimes silence is honestly preferable to causing even more hatred between each other, but I guess he doesn't know that.
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