Haredi lawmaker draws criticism after appearing to compare detained draft dodgers to Gaza hostages
MK Yitzhak Goldknopf, the chairman of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, appears to draw a comparison between the Gaza hostages and detained Haredi draft dodgers in a letter welcoming US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
Expressing his wish for the hostages to be speedily returned to Israel over the upcoming Sukkot holiday, starting on Monday night, Goldknopf writes in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the government is responsible for ensuring that any Palestinian terrorists released as part of the deal “never pose a threat to the State of Israel at any stage or in any way.”
Juxtaposing the issue of the hostages with that of IDF conscription, Goldknopf urges the premier to work to “immediately” free draft dodgers arrested “for the crime of studying Torah” so that they can also celebrate the upcoming holiday with their families.
Goldknopf quit the cabinet in protest this June over the government’s failure to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from mandatory military service. His party left the government the following month.
Secular and national religious politicians are quick to condemn Goldknopf for his apparent comparison of the hostages and draft dodgers, with former prime minister Naftali Bennett tweeting that his rhetoric was “simply shameful.”
“My problem is with parties that call themselves ‘Zionist’ yet provide backing for the disgrace of draft evasion only out of political and personal interests,” Bennett writes.
Yesh Atid MK Debbie Biton calls Goldknopf’s comparison a “moral disgrace,” while The Democrats MK Efrat Rayten declares that she is “praying that he be forgiven for all his sins.”
The Israel National News news website cites the National Religious Reservists Forum, which complains that while Goldknopf is asking to allow draft dodgers to celebrate at home, tens of thousands of reservists will be spending the holiday in the army.
Last week, the IDF approved the early release of a number of ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers, including several who had been detained after returning from Uman, in order to allow them to mark the Yom Kippur fast at home.
It was the second such early release over a period of two weeks, with another group having been sent home ahead of Rosh Hashanah.
