From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Haredi minister condemns Bnei Brak youth filmed cursing at IDF soldiers visiting the ultra-Orthodox city
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"
Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, the chairman of the United Torah Judaism party, condemns members of the Haredi community who were filmed cursing at soldiers during a tour of the largely ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak earlier today.
In a video of the event shared on social media, young Haredi men can be heard yelling at the soldiers as they walk down the street. Not everybody was against the servicemen, however, with one young Haredi man seen approaching the group and shaking a soldier’s hand while others yelled.
“I strongly condemn the criminal behavior of fringe youths who attacked IDF soldiers in the city of Bnei Brak today,” Goldknopf writes on X. “This is not the path of Torah. We owe gratitude to IDF soldiers, who risk their lives to protect the people and the country.”
The incident is also condemned by the Bnei Brak municipality.
בני ברק: קבוצת נערים בקללות וגידופים נגד חיילים שעשו סיור בעיר pic.twitter.com/XWjPg40o3L
— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) April 1, 2025
Goldknopf recently backed down on a threat to bring down the coalition over his demand for the quick passage of legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service. He also sparked calls for his resignation over a video showing him dancing to an anti-Zionist, anti-enlistment song at his nephew’s wedding.
In the widely distributed clip, Goldknopf could be seen in the middle of a circle of young Haredi men singing that they “don’t believe in the government of infidels” and “won’t show up at their [army] recruitment offices.”
The Times of Israel Community.