Amid the uproar that erupted over the IDF’s decision to sentence 16 soldiers to prison for heeding their Rabbanim and refusing to enter an APC with a female paramedic, some responded by noting a glaring contradiction: The IDF is calling on Chareidim to enlist even as it punishes religious soldiers for insisting on maintaining their religious standards while serving.

Noam chairman Avi Maoz responded by saying, “Givati soldiers, Rotem Battalion, you risked your lives with mesiras nefesh in Lebanon, and today the army is turning its back on you. It is not acceptable that with one hand the army calls on the Chareidim to enlist, and with the other it harms outstanding soldiers who want to live according to their faith. Even if you are required to sit in prison, do it with your head held high and with Jewish pride. Free to be a Jew.”

The “Soldiers’ Wives For The Kedusha of the Machaneh” organization issued a statement saying: “We demand that the soldiers be released immediately and that those responsible for mistreating them be held accountable. The agenda of progressive coercion has reached a new moral low, with extreme and harmful consequences. The IDF is a Jewish army. Halacha, mitzvos, and kedusha are our guiding principles, and Shomrei Mitzvos will not become a doormat for commanders unworthy of their positions.

“This is a disgrace and a badge of shame for the Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister. You cannot call on Chareidim to enlist while religious soldiers serving in the IDF are persecuted for remaining faithful to the Torah and kedusha.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)