From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 7, 2025
Haredi party head Deri fumes at Lapid over military exemptions swipe
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"
Shas chairman Aryeh Deri slams Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, accusing him of incitement over his statement that the ultra-Orthodox politician was fine sending other people’s children to fight and die as long as his own are exempted from service.
Speaking with reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Lapid railed against Haredi efforts to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service, stating that Deri and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee member Yaakov Asher (United Torah Judaism) “have no problem sending [reserve] soldiers to go fight and die on one condition: that their own children not die.”
In response, Deri claims in a statement that “the percentage of soldiers who serve and risk their lives among Shas voters is higher than among your party’s voters.”
“Stop pointing an accusing finger at an entire community that contributes to the country with dedication… Your words are serious and false incitement,” Deri continues.
He calls on Lapid to retract his “inflammatory slur.”
The Times of Israel Community.