JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In a controversial interview on the eve of Israel’s Remembrance Day, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett launched a sharp attack on Monday morning on the charedi public that does not enlist, claiming that avoiding military service is costing soldiers’ lives.

“We need to say a harsh but true thing: draft evasion is costing the lives of our soldiers,” Bennett said in an interview with Radio 103FM.

According to Bennett, “As of today, the IDF cannot meet its missions because it is short about 20,000 soldiers. Soldiers are sent again and again and become worn out. When you are worn down for so long, your sharpness declines, and in the end there are casualties. Because of the lack of soldiers, they are forced to capture a position but cannot hold it, and then they withdraw.”

Bennett continued and criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:“This is not fate, it stems from a terrible political decision. There are 100,000 healthy charedi men who can enlist. If even a fifth of them enlist, we’ve solved the problem.”

To encourage charedi enlistment, Bennett proposed:
“To completely halt all funding, the dozens of financial pipelines that enable this draft evasion. The era of education against the values of the State of Israel, without mathematics and without English, is over — we will no longer fund it. Not a single shekel will go to those who don’t put on a uniform. This is costing human lives. There will not be an autonomous charedi state within the State of Israel, it’s over.”

Bennett also sharply attacked Smotrich and his party:“Smotrich is, to a large extent, the architect of draft evasion. He was supposed to represent religious Zionism, the people who give 500–600 days in reserve duty, but because of his alliance with Yitzhak Goldknopf and Aryeh Deri, he simply sold them out. It’s a crime.”

When asked whether he expects support from the right, Bennett replied:“Judge me by my actions. As Prime Minister, I was much tougher than my predecessors. Out of roughly 22 seats, about nine come from Likud and religious Zionism. I travel across the country and am received very well.”

In response, pro-government news anchor Yinon Magal blasted Bennett for his attack on the charedim. According to Magal, Bennett’s accusation against the charedi sector crosses a red line and is intended solely to serve political needs.

“Cursed be you for blaming the charedim for the deaths of soldiers,” Magal lashed out. “You will pay politically, you will pay with your career for what you said this morning.”