A political uproar has erupted after Inbar Harush-Gitty, a former Defense Ministry official who helped establish several chareidi military enlistment initiatives and is now running as a candidate in Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, argued that increasing chareidi enlistment requires far more than military recruitment—it requires, in her words, dismantling the chareidi community’s autonomy.

The remarks were broadcast Wednesday on the radio program Hitorerut, where Harush-Gitty participated in a panel discussion. Asked about the challenge of recruiting chareidim into the IDF, she pointed to her years of experience working on integration programs, including the Kodkod initiative, chareidi hesder yeshivos, and the Ma’alot Tzur program. She asserted that many of the chareidim currently serving in the military joined through projects she personally helped establish.

Before addressing the enlistment issue, Harush-Gitty warned against political developments that, in her view, could keep Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in office, calling such an outcome “very, very dangerous for the State of Israel.” She then shifted to what she described as another major challenge—the chareidi community itself.

Explaining her approach, Harush-Gitty said, “Listen, in order to recruit chareidim, and I’m saying this as someone who served as CEO of Acharai!, who built Kodkod, who established the chareidi hesder yeshivos, who created Ma’alot Tzur—believe me, the chareidim who are serving in the IDF today are there because of projects that I established. In order to do this, there is no choice. We have to dismantle the chareidi autonomy. It’s not just about enlistment. It’s about dismantling the chareidi autonomy. Anyone who carefully reads everything we wrote about education, the economy, and military service will see exactly that.”

She continued, “We are going after every area of chareidi life, and we are not allowing chareidi autonomy to continue, because it weakens the State of Israel and makes it less secure and less economically strong.”

Later in the discussion, Harush-Gitty was asked which rabbonim she consults with. She replied that she has worked with prominent chareidi rabbis over the years but argued that “the last thing that should be done is to speak with the rabbis who are at the top of the pyramid of chareidi autonomy—we need to cut out the middlemen.”

Her comments immediately drew sharp criticism from parents of students attending chareidi high-school yeshivos, many of whom said the remarks confirmed long-standing concerns about chareidi military service tracks and chareidi hesder yeshivos. According to those parents, the issue extends well beyond providing options for young men who are not learning full time and instead reflects a broader effort to reshape chareidi society.

Individuals involved in chareidi education said the comments have generated deep concern among parents and educators.

“It turns out this isn’t just an educational solution for those who aren’t learning all day, but an openly declared effort to change the chareidi identity, dismantle its leadership, and create a new model of chareidi life,” one source said. “When a public figure associated with Eisenkot’s party openly says she wants to bypass the rabbonim and reshape every aspect of chareidi life, it becomes clear that this is about far more than military enlistment.”

Journalist Yedidya Meir, who highlighted the remarks on his radio program, said he has great respect for many of the people working within these frameworks—including talmidei chachamim, dedicated staff members, and parents who genuinely seek what is best for their children. Nevertheless, he argued that it is equally important to examine the broader forces and agendas operating behind the scenes.

The controversy is expected to reignite debate within the chareidi community over chareidi hesder yeshivos and military service programs, particularly over whether such initiatives are intended simply to provide solutions for a limited group of young men or are part of a broader effort to fundamentally transform the social, educational, and spiritual fabric of chareidi society.