Yinon Magal: "I promoted Haredi enlistment – and now I have questions"

In a heated discussion on the program "HaPatriotim" following the arrest of religious Givati soldiers, Yotam Zemer admitted he feels like an idiot for arguing with Yedidya Meir, who said the army doesn't really want Haredim. Yinon Magal said that after promoting Haredi enlistment, he understands that the IDF chose to be progressive, and that this is a deliberate policy rather than a local malfunction, raising questions about his stance on enlisting Haredim.

In a heated discussion on the program "HaPatriotim" following the arrest of religious Givati soldiers, panel members addressed their debates throughout the war over Haredi enlistment. Yotam Zemer admitted that the story makes him feel like an idiot for arguing so much with Yedidya Meir, who said the army doesn't really want Haredim and isn't willing to give them what they need. Yinon Magal said that after promoting Haredi enlistment and fighting for it, he understands that the IDF chose to be progressive, that this is a deliberate policy and not a local malfunction. According to him, all the chiefs of staff and all the generals are progressives, and it's an agenda. This raises questions for him about his position on enlisting Haredim into the IDF, because if this is the IDF's stance that sends an entire platoon of soldiers to prison because they stand by their rabbis' words – it raises questions. The article notes that after ten days of detention, the religious Givati soldiers were released from prison, after they warned and asked not to serve with a female paramedic in the same Namer APC and were consequently thrown into detention under harsh conditions. The general public woke up in response to this specific incident to protest the entire IDF policy regarding soldiers who observe Halacha.