Israel’s government, not war cabinet, should be dissolved: Lapid
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has reacted to Netanyahu’s move to disband the war cabinet, stating that it should be his government that loses power instead.
Lapid, who heads Israel’s centrist Yesh Atid party, has been a prominent figure in antigovernment protests sweeping Israel. He has called on the government to strike a deal with Hamas to bring home the captives and repeatedly urged Netanyahu to resign.
Lapid attempting to block ultra-Orthodox military exemption bill: Report
Lapid, who opposes a draft bill on military exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, has met with members of his party to strategise on how to block the bill’s passage, according to The Times of Israel.
The bill, pushed by Israel’s government, would lower the age at which ultra-Orthodox students can be exempt from military service from 26 to 21, while only slowly increasing their conscription rate.
The legislation has prompted outrage among many Israelis who feel the ultra-Orthodox, traditionally exempt from military service, are not pulling their weight during the war.
Lapid, speaking to members of his party who will debate the bill in parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Committee, said he believes “there are decent people in the committee from all factions of the house whose conscience and values will not allow them to pass the law as it is”.
During the war, Israel has called up hundreds of thousands of reservists to fight. And “due to an urgent need for more troops”, the government is now proposing delaying the retirement age for reservists by a year, further exacerbating tensions over ultra-Orthodox exemptions.
Israel’s Labor leader slams Netanyahu for exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from army duty
Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Labor Party and former deputy chief of staff of the Israeli army, says it is “infuriating” to see Netanyahu granting an exemption from military service to ultra-Orthodox Jews.
He accused Netanyahu’s government of choosing “to seriously undermine [Israel’s] national security”. “This bad government has chosen to increase the burden on those serving in the ranks of the compulsory army and the reserves and to continue giving political bribes to coalition partners on the backs of all our sons and daughters,” Golan added.
Israeli soldiers with disabilities, PTSD accuse state of not providing care: Report
Israeli soldiers living with disabilities and PTSD have testified to the Knesset’s State Audit Committee, accusing the government of ignoring their plight.
Avichai Levy, a soldier with PTSD, lashed out during a discussion on the Defence Ministry’s treatment of post-trauma soldiers from the current assault on Gaza.
“How many Eliran Mizrahis do you need? Why lie to us? My friends have been taken hostage and others are experiencing missiles and shootings all day. All the ministers are ignoring us. They have all turned their backs on us. They are all spitting in our faces. They underestimate our intelligence,” Levy said, according to Israel National News.
Mizrahi was a bulldozer operator who served in Gaza and suffered from PTSD, taking his own life earlier this month.
Haaretz reported that Aviram Atias, a combat soldier and another friend of Mizrahi, said he wakes up screaming at night. “I thought I’d draw strength here, and I’m leaving here even more crushed… If someone here was bleeding to death, everyone would jump in to help. But that’s what’s actually happening, and we’re all bleeding to death here,” he said.
