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Rav Yigal Levinstein, head of the pre-military academy in Eli, sharply criticized the IDF’s integration policies following the controversy involving 16 religious soldiers in the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion who objected to traveling in a confined armored vehicle together with a female paramedic.

In an interview on the “Central Edition” program, Rav Levinstein argued that the dispute is far broader than the circumstances surrounding the individual soldiers and is the result of years of IDF policies that have failed to adequately accommodate the religious requirements of observant troops.

“The damage they have done over the past fifteen years, without taking anyone into consideration, keeps creating more and more and more problems,” he said.

Rav Levinstein focused particularly on the IDF’s paramedic system, arguing that the military’s training structure has resulted in a shortage of male paramedics available to combat units. As a result, he said, religious soldiers can find themselves in situations during combat in which no alternative is available.

During the war, Rav Levinstein explained, such circumstances sometimes had to be accepted because of life-and-death considerations. However, he argued that the IDF failed to use the intervening period to develop a viable long-term solution.

“We said that this was inconceivable, but it could not be stopped,” he said.

Rav Levinstein maintained that such disputes should not be allowed to reach the IDF chief rabbi only after a direct conflict has already emerged between operational requirements and Jewish law. Instead, he said, the military should establish systems in advance that allow religious soldiers to carry out their missions without confronting religious dilemmas that could have been prevented.

“And what is even worse, they turn to the chief military rabbi, and they put him in an impossible situation,” Rav Levinstein said.

He also rejected the notion that the military belongs to any particular ideological group or sector.

“The army is not theirs; it is the army of the Jewish people, which protects the entire Jewish people,” he said.

Rav Levinstein warned that controversies of this kind also have repercussions for Chareidim who are considering joining the IDF. Potential Chareidi recruits, he said, may look at the disputes involving religious soldiers and question whether assurances given to them when they enlist will continue to be honored once they are serving.

“The Chareidi community, which was offered the opportunity to join the Hasmonean Brigade, looks at all these sagas, and its motivation definitely declines,” he said.

Rav Levinstein concluded by pointing to what he described as a significant change among the younger generation of religious soldiers. In previous years, he said, observant troops were often hesitant to stand up to the military establishment over their religious requirements, while today’s soldiers are increasingly willing to insist that those standards be respected.

“Thank God, a generation has grown here for whom Judaism is precious, and it knows that the source of its motivation is Judaism and the Torah,” Rav Levinstein said.

“So today they are not afraid to fight for Judaism,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

Likud MK Tally Gotliv said Monday that she would seriously consider leaving the party if she received an attractive offer from another political faction, accusing Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s circle of working to weaken her and sideline her within the Likud.

Gotliv said she has not received an offer from another party at this point, but made clear that she would be prepared to consider one under the right circumstances.

“Unfortunately, the prime minister, as is his right, excluded me from the Likud campaign, and the campaign staff decided not to address our obligation to restrain the power of the High Court. The campaign staff continues to brief against me and portray me as a weakening force within Likud,” Gotliv wrote. “I was elected to advance right-wing governance and to put an end to the reckless conduct of the High Court, which assumed authority it does not possess and, in its own eyes, transformed itself into a superior branch of government.”

Gotliv also accused Netanyahu of effectively blocking her path to senior positions where she believes she could advance her judicial agenda.

“The prime minister made up his mind not to allow me to be justice minister or even chairwoman of the Constitution Committee, and decided to push me to a hidden corner in the back,” she added.

Gotliv said her loyalty to Netanyahu and the right-wing government has come at considerable political cost, arguing that she deserves a position reflecting what she views as her electoral strength.

“I threw myself on the fence for the prime minister and the right-wing government,” she wrote. “If I were to receive a realistic offer from a party that would respect my electoral strength and my clear ability to serve as a minister in a highly important position, on behalf of my voters I would seriously consider it. I will not agree to be a doormat.”

Her remarks follow her disappointment with finishing 12th in the recent Likud primaries, an outcome she attributed in large part to efforts by people surrounding Netanyahu to prevent her from finishing higher on the party list.

After most of the primary votes had been counted, Gotliv publicly accused Netanyahu’s associates and organized voting blocs within Likud of attempting to undermine her candidacy.

“Even if the prime minister’s circle really worked hard to thwart and weaken me, even if all the organized votes in deals were instructed not to mark me, even if I am the only one for whom no message was sent from the prime minister urging support, the right-wing Likud voters fought for me with tremendous strength,” she wrote.

Political reporter Amit Segal subsequently reported that Gotliv had delivered an ultimatum to Netanyahu, warning that she could consider leaving Likud unless she was guaranteed the No. 12 position on the party’s electoral slate.

Likud officials responded that the ultimatum had been rejected outright.

{Matzav.com}