"To prevent evacuation, it's good if soldiers are killed": The storm around the right-wing podcast host
Tamir Dortal, host of the podcast "On the Meaning," sparked a storm when he said in a hypothetical discussion about evacuation in Judea and Samaria that armed resistance that costs soldiers' lives is "a good thing." Following political and public condemnations, Dortal clarified that he did not call for violence but presented a moral dilemma.
Tamir Dortal, host of the podcast "On the Meaning," sparked a public and political storm after saying in a hypothetical discussion about evacuating Jewish settlements from Judea and Samaria that armed resistance that costs soldiers' lives is "a good thing." The remarks were made in an episode where Dortal hosted Rabbi Benny Lau and Rabbi Menachem Ben-Shachar. Rabbi Lau stated that violence against a governmental move is evil, but Dortal disagreed and argued that if forces resist the evacuation with weapons and even IDF soldiers are killed – "that's good," as long as the evacuation is prevented. The spread of the recording on social media drew sharp condemnations, among others from MK Naama Lazimi and Dr. Tomer Persico. In a conversation with "Israel Hayom," Dortal clarified that he did not call for violence, but presented a moral dilemma in a scenario of uprooting hundreds of thousands of Jews, which he said would bring an existential danger. He emphasized that he does not see harming soldiers as a legitimate goal, and that his aim is to create deterrence that will prevent bloodshed.