Leader of the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Sephardic Shas Party, Arye Deri, accused IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir of attempting to “help the left-wing bloc,” and "causing damage to the military" after Zamir sent a recent warning against legislation advanced by Deri's party that seeks to freeze the arrests of haredi draft evaders.
"He has lost it. What the chief of staff did during an election campaign was an attempt to help the left-wing bloc, without a doubt," Deri said.
"He has no business involving himself in politics. This sets a very dangerous precedent. He has caused significant damage to the army," Deri added.
The remarks came in a Thursday interview with the haredi Kikar Hashabbat news outlet, after the Knesset passed the contentious bill this week that will temporarily freeze arrests of haredi draft evaders, a measure expected to remain in effect for at least six months. The High Court of Justice on Wednesday later froze the law and will hear petitions to strike down the legislation.
The passage of the bill in its final readings came following severe legal warnings that the legislation is unbalanced and will not increase haredi enlistment amid the IDF’s severe manpower shortage, as well as outrage from bereaved families and reservists.
Zamir warns draft evasion bill raises issues of national security
Zamir warned ahead of the bill’s passage that implementing such a law would create an array of national security problems.
He stated that he opposes the bill’s implementation “completely and unequivocally.”
Among the issues raised by Zamir was that such a law would decrease recruitment both from the haredi community and from the general Israeli population by delegitimizing the idea of the IDF as the “nation’s army” in which everyone is equally obligated to serve.
Zamir has warned in recent months that the IDF could soon collapse if no solution is found for the manpower shortage.
Party leaders condemn Deri's statements
Deri’s remarks directed at Zamir sparked outrage from party leaders in the opposition bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu in the upcoming elections.
Yashar Party leader Gadi Eisenkot said that Deri’s remarks were “A display of breathtaking audacity and complete detachment.”
“If the haredi leadership had even a shred of self-awareness, the person who led and advanced the draft exemption legislation this week, while the best of our sons and daughters are deployed on multiple fronts, would at the very least have kept his 'criticism' of the chief of staff to himself,” Eisenkot added.
"Arye, after three years of war, perhaps it's time to understand that military service is not a political issue. It is the insurance policy of the Jewish people in the State of Israel. It is a matter of national security," Eisenkot added.
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the Together Party, responded that "Deri's attacks on the chief of staff strengthen Israel's enemies and tear apart the IDF.”
“Only in a government of October 7 can a person like Deri, whose life's work has been encouraging mass draft evasion, dare to accuse the chief of staff of his own failures.”
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.