Former prime minister Naftali Bennett says that “draft evasion is killing our soldiers,” speaking to Kan radio about the refusal of ultra-Orthodox community members to serve in the military.
“It is a difficult sentence, and I stand by it,” Bennett tells Kan. “Reservists are tired. It harms our operational performance, and it costs lives.”
He continues, “There are 100,000 healthy Haredim of draft age. Draft then in a simple way: halting the transfer of money to those who don’t draft, and those who are studying [in yeshivas]. What sustains the evasion are the budgets that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, [Shas chairman Aryeh] Deri and [UTJ chairman Yitzhak] Goldknopf transfer.”
Bennett, who is a favorite to replace Netanyahu at the next elections, vows: “I will not sit under Netanyahu, I will replace him.”
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