Smotrich slams UTJ head for saying ultra-Orthodox need not be bothered by others dying in war

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slams United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf after he says it’s none of the Haredi community’s concern if other Israelis are dying while fighting in a war while they refuse to join.

“Goldknopf, you should be ashamed. Our sages taught us that anyone who does not grieve for the public’s distress will not see its consolation. The immense pain of the bereaved families who lost their loved ones in our existential war is not the pain of religious Zionism. It is the pain of the people of Israel,” tweets Smotrich, the chairman of the Religious Zionism party.

Speaking with the national-religious Makor Rishon weekly, Goldknopf, whose party recently left the coalition over its failure to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from the mandatory draft, was asked about the high number of members of slain soldiers from the national-religious community and answered, “Their pain will be with them and our pain will be with us. Don’t bring me your pain and pass it on to me. Let’s decide that everybody has their own burden.”

“Whoever excludes themselves from the collective is a disbeliever,” Smotrich continues. “Instead of spouting nonsense and once again displaying detachment from the people of Israel, lower your gaze and ask for forgiveness.”

“I am certain that the vast majority of the ultra-Orthodox public is ashamed of you. It’s time they replace you with a representative who is connected to the people of Israel and understands his role and place.”