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Friday, July 25, 2025
Ex-UTJ MK joins criticism of Goldknopf’s comments dismissing ‘pains’ of IDF soldiers
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
United Torah Judaism’s Degel Hatorah faction appears to distance itself from party chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf’s dismissal of non-Haredi Jews’ suffering due to their service in Gaza.
“I cannot accept these words,” says former UTJ lawmaker Yitzhak Pindrus, one of three MKs who were pushed out of the Knesset last week under the so-called Norwegian Law due to the resignations of the party’s ministers.
“It’s not just me, I’ve been receiving calls since this morning from important rabbis and people who are hurt. It’s the most elementary thing to identify with [their] pain, even if we have an ideological debate, even if there are legitimate discussions — but I am not willing to accept these things, the Haredi public is not willing to accept these things,” Pindrus tells national broadcaster Kan.
The Haredi public “appreciates and thanks all the families and soldiers for their contribution and shares in their pain,” he adds. “I don’t know why [Goldknopf] expressed himself like that. I don’t speak for him, but I am expressing my opinion as someone who grew up and knows our sector, and I have also received calls from very important rabbis and community leaders who think [like me].”
Pindrus is a member of Degel Hatorah, while Goldknopf heads UTJ’s Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction. His comments come in response to an interview Goldknopf gave to the national-religious Makor Rishon newspaper this week in which he said that the suffering of segments of the population, including non-Haredi Orthodox Jews, who serve in the military, was not his nor his community’s concern.
“Don’t bring me your pains and pass them on to me. Let’s decide that everybody has their own burden,” he said.
According to the Behadrei Haredim news site, Pindrus’ statement was delivered on the orders of Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, the dean of Bnei Brak’s Slabodka yeshiva and one of Degel Hatorah’s spiritual leaders.
Earlier today, Rabbi Dov Lando, another one of the faction’s spiritual leaders, told a number of yeshiva students who had received enlistment orders that only Torah study, and not the military, protects the Jewish people.
“What saves us? The army saves us? God helps them succeed. Why doesn’t the land vomit us out? Because of Torah study,” Lando stated.
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