My son paid a heavy price - now it's your turn to take responsibility

Ricky Berkovich, mother of Staff Sergeant (res.) Eyal Meir Berkovich, who fell in Gaza in December 2023, calls on the Haredi leadership to stop shifting the burden of the conscription issue onto others. She cites the Book of Genesis as a parable for shifting responsibility, and emphasizes that the IDF needs 12,000 soldiers immediately and that the serving public is exhausted. Berkovich calls on young Haredi men to answer "Hineni" instead of shifting responsibility.

Ricky Berkovich, mother of Staff Sergeant (res.) Eyal Meir Berkovich, who fell in the Gaza Strip in December 2023, publishes an opinion column calling on the Haredi leadership to stop shifting the burden of the conscription issue onto others. She opens with a quote from the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Book of Genesis, comparing the Haredi society's conduct on the conscription issue to Adam and Eve shifting blame. Berkovich lists the recurring arguments: drafting those exempt from reserves, drafting Arabs, placing responsibility on rabbis, and claims that the IDF doesn't really want to win. She notes that one of the Haredi public leaders even hinted that the solution is giving up the state's independence. In contrast, she describes her son and the Zionist public who answered the call without hesitation. Berkovich emphasizes that the IDF needs 12,000 soldiers immediately, and that the serving public is exhausted from reserve duty cycles. She calls on young Haredi men to answer the question "Ayeka" with the answer "Hineni." The tone is emotional and based on a personal narrative of bereavement, using religious metaphors.

My son paid a heavy price - now it's your turn to take responsibility