Hendel attacks Religious Zionism: 'They encourage mass draft-dodging during war'

Yoaz Hendel attacks Religious Zionism for supporting Haredim and encouraging draft evasion during wartime. He calls for the establishment of a new Zionist force and warns against disintegration into autonomous entities.

A day after the Religious Zionism party primaries, Yoaz Hendel sharply attacked its leaders in an interview with 103FM. He accused them of encouraging mass draft evasion during wartime by supporting the Haredi parties and transferring budgets to Haredi institutions. Hendel called the legislation promoted by the coalition "the draft-dodging law and the Torah-disgrace law." According to him, "those who call themselves 'Religious Zionism' encourage mass draft-dodging" and what the party is doing during wartime is "a catastrophe and a disgrace." He criticized that elected officials who do not serve make decisions about soldiers' lives, citing United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf as an example. Hendel presented his party as a party of reservists that combines right-wing positions with a demand for shared service for all citizens. He called for the establishment of a new Zionist force that would serve as a balancing weight and recommend a prime minister who would bring Zionist mandates; otherwise, he said, political stagnation would ensue.