With song and dancing… the Haredi Jews continues announcing their rejection of enlist in the Israeli army
The crisis has escalated in the ruling Israeli coalition after a video surfaced of Housing Minister and United Torah Judaism Party leader Yitzhak Goldknopf dancing to a song that includes the phrase “We die but don’t enlist”.
A video circulated on social media showing the leader of the United Torah Judaism party dancing to a Haredi song amidst a chorus of enthusiastic religious school students surrounding him.
At a Haredi wedding, Goldknopf danced, as he threatens to cancel the budget and go to elections if the law banning the draft of Haredi youth isn’t passed.
The song celebrates the refusal to serve in the Israeli military, prompting growing calls in recent hours for the minister’s dismissal, forcing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to comment on the incident.
The song’s lyrics include, “We die rather than join the army, we do not believe in the rule of the infidels (infidels referred to secular Jews)”.
The head of the United Torah Judaism party attempted to justify his behavior, saying, “I attended a wedding of a family member, and while dancing, the music changed to a song I didn’t feel comfortable with… In order not to offend the groom and his family, I stayed where I was; Unfortunately, some took advantage of this to incite, as if I agreed with the song’s content, however, I reject and condemn it”.
After the condemnations poured in and the crisis escalated, Goldknopf asked for forgiveness, continuing, “It was my duty to silence the orchestra immediately, and I will do so in the future… I fully understand who is hurting, and I apologize”.
For his part, Netanyahu said, “Minister Goldknopf acted appropriately by rejecting the song played at the ceremony he attended, and even expressed his regret over it… There is no place for songs that oppose service in the Israeli military”.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, “The angry tweets sent by government ministers about the humiliation of IDF soldiers in this song are worthless… The ministers themselves are transferring billions of dollars to these tax evaders… We don’t need condemnations, but a complete halt to the evading budgets”.
For his part, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “Shame! We can no longer remain silent in the face of Minister Goldknopf’s indifference, contempt, and lack of support for Israel and its soldiers”.
Meanwhile, the head of the official camp, Benny Gantz, said, “This isn’t the deep state that Netanyahu often repeats… This is sabotage from within the government that is harming Israel… The only response to Goldnopf’s actions is a dismissal letter and sending draft orders to these draft dodgers, whose dancing is spitting in the face of IDF soldiers”.
For his part, opposition leader Yair Lapid said, “In a country where 1,850 people were killed and 14,000 soldiers were wounded, a minister who attacked Israel this evening should have been fired, but Netanyahu is the prime minister of evasion”.
