Adam Smith, ISL – RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine, 11.05.024
Netanyahu has decided to fire the defense minister Gallant after more than a year of war crimes. This is because he is the only minister in the cabinet to make some noise of a (Zionist) opposition – his willingness to send more than 7000 induction notices ultra Orthodox youth, as well as his opposition to the new proposed law which would strike down the current sanctions of the Supreme court towards (ultra Orthodox) draft evaders, by form of cancelation of eligibility to subsidized child day cars.
Netanyahu already wanted to fire him before the war in Lebanon, but because of the escalation decided to keep him. Now he is replaced in the cabinet by Katz(the FM), whose job is replaced by Gidon Saar, who joined the coalition recently. Saar is another right wing phony opposition candidate.
A year and half ago, Netanyahu tried to fire him because of his opposition to the judicial reform, but was forced to revert due to strong protests. Netanyahu thinks that the recents events in Lebanon have earned him enough credit in the Zionist public to fire Gallant, despite the protests over the cuts of the budgets and the law enabling exemption from military service for the ultra Orthodox. The Israeli public is tired after a year of war and I think this time Netanyahu will be able to get away with it.
The attempt to conscript the ultra Orthodox is a fiction, the new battalion is mainly just composed of existing conscripts from the notorious Netazh Yehuda battalion[1]. Already a decade ago, articles showed that most of the conscripts to that battalion do not come from ultra Orthodox homes, but from those in the national-religious who prefer an even more religious environment. [2] [3] Very few ultra Orthodox enlist, and those who do so are from the periphery of the Orthodox world. However, it does not mean that the Orthodox world is anti or even a-Zionist, and especially since 7/10 it has become more supportive of the state and Zionism, even more openly. For example, some Orthodox rabbis met with Gallant to discuss conscription quotas.
To be clear, while we oppose the budget cuts targeting mainly the middle and working class costing tens of thousands of shekels in new taxes a year, we do not support the call for “sharing the burden” and conscription of Orthodox jews into the army. The protests against Gallant’s firing are reactionary and cannot be supported in any way – they don’t say a word about more than a year of war crimes and genocide!
To the liberal protesters we say, only if you abandon the Zionist road will you be able to reverse the budget cut, and live without the need of overwhelming military security.
Down with Netanyahu’s government!
For an Israeli defeat in Lebanon!
No conscription of ultra Orthodox!
No to budget cuts!
Endnotes:
[1] https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sj28qnkca
[2] https://www.mako.co.il/news-channel2/Channel-2-Newscast-q1_2015/Article-2ef3f30b90a0c41004.htm
[3] https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/security-q1_2015/Article-a938f30b90a0c41004.htm