IDF chief says military service can go hand-in-hand with religious way of life

IDF chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi appeals to the ultra-Orthodox community in a speech marking Independence Day, saying that military service and religious life are not contradictory.

Addressing the 120 outstanding soldiers honored at the President’s Residence ceremony, Halevi says that their stories “are the stories of the diverse Israeli society, the story of the IDF as the people’s army. Among you are city dwellers and village residents, those born in Israel and immigrants from six continents, representatives of all religions and backgrounds, and also those who grew up in the Haredi community and serve in the IDF.”

The military chief adds that it would be praiseworthy if “in a few years even more of [Haredi society’s] sons would sit in the rows of the outstanding soldiers, and prove that you can maintain a religious identity and a religious way of life and at the same time excel in military service on behalf of the people and the state… this is a clear national-security need.”