Breaking News! Military chaos in Israel, Rabbi Lando says 'We will wage a global struggle against Israel'

In his statement, Rabbi Lando accused the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of declaring war on the Haredim.

Lando said, "The State of Israel has declared war on Yeshiva (Torah School) students. Haredi Judaism will engage in a global struggle like never before."

Speaking at a conference last week in the heavily Haredi city of Bnei Brak, Lando threatened that if Israeli authorities began arresting Yeshiva students for deserting the military, the Haredi community would "make the world tremble with all its might and heart" and the government would face "unified, global Haredi Judaism."

HAREDI PARTIES WITHDRAWN

The United Torah Judaism alliance, formed by the Haredi Shas Party and the Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel parties, withdrew from the government last month after a bill that would have exempted Haredim from military service was not brought to the parliamentary agenda.

With this decision, the Netanyahu government became a minority government, supported by 50 deputies in the 120-seat Parliament.

The debate over the recruitment of Haredim

According to Israeli law, everyone over the age of 18 must complete compulsory military service, but the exemption of Haredim from military service has been a debate in the country for years.

The issue of recruiting Haredim into the military came to the fore as the need for soldiers began to increase due to Israel's escalating aggression in the region, especially in the Gaza Strip, starting on October 7, 2023.

On June 25, 2024, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that there was no legal basis for exempting Haredi men from compulsory military service and that those who were fit for military service should be recruited.

It was reported that the government had sent out draft orders to approximately 24,000 of the approximately 80,000 Haredi men eligible for military service, and that it would send orders to the rest of the group, designated as the "pool," for the 2025-2026 military year as of July.

Because a law that would exempt Haredim from military service was not passed, Netanyahu's Haredi coalition partners began boycotting Parliament, causing a political crisis that culminated in a vote to dissolve Parliament.

Although the issue remained unresolved, the required majority was not achieved in the dissolution vote.