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PM Netanyahu, Opposition Leaders Condemn ‘Shameful’ Statements Toward IDF Chief of Staff at Haredi Protest

Aderson Aiden

June 30, 2026 

Jerusalem — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leaders condemned inflammatory remarks against IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. The remarks came during the IDF Chief Haredi Protest in Bnei Brak. As a result, Israel’s political establishment closed ranks against an ultra-Orthodox rabbi accused of incitement.

The Incident

The controversy erupted Monday night, when a rally in Bnei Brak protested the arrest of Haredi draft evaders. During the rally, Rabbi Aryeh Yazdi addressed the crowd in highly inflammatory terms and cursed Zamir directly. “The accursed chief of staff, may his name and memory be erased, sent a soldier to prison because he wore a ‘Messiah’ patch,” Yazdi said, referencing a recent case in which commanders punished a soldier for wearing a religious patch on his uniform.

Beyond that remark, Yazdi told the crowd the army “indoctrinates people into committing the most severe sins in the Torah.” He also called Israel an “impure country.”

In addition, Yazdi was not the only speaker who made provocative remarks. Another rabbi at the rally, Levi Pinchasi, compared the IDF to Haman, the biblical villain of the Purim story. “Haman did not succeed, and neither will they,” he told the crowd.

Netanyahu Condemns the Remarks

In response, Netanyahu issued a statement Tuesday strongly condemning the remarks. “I strongly condemn the shameful remarks made against the chief of staff yesterday in Bnei Brak,” he said. “Even when there are disagreements among us, there is absolutely no place for severe incitement against the IDF and its commanders, who protect us all.”

Similarly, Defense Minister Israel Katz denounced the comments. He warned that “red lines must not be crossed” and stressed that the chief of staff and IDF commanders “lead our fighters across all fronts” to defend the state and protect Israeli citizens.

Opposition Leaders Pile On

Meanwhile, opposition figures used the episode to sharpen their attacks on Netanyahu’s government and its Haredi coalition partners.

For instance, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accused the prime minister of staying silent while Haredi protesters “are inciting against our fighters, spilling the blood of the chief of staff.” He added: “Not a word of condemnation, not a single arrest warrant for incitement to violence. Our soldiers are heroes, this government is a heap of cowards.”

Likewise, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said he was still awaiting condemnation from Haredi party leaders, including MK Aryeh Deri, who sits on the political-security cabinet. According to Liberman, the government has given draft evaders political backing “even at the cost of dismantling the IDF and destroying Israeli society.”

Bennett and Eisenkot React

Furthermore, former prime minister Naftali Bennett pointed to government funding tied to Yazdi, noting that the religious seminary linked to the rabbi receives 653,000 shekels annually. Consequently, Bennett pledged to end state funding for figures like Yazdi if elected, laying out a new “deal” between citizens and the state: “Anyone who teaches against Zionism and against the State of Israel will not receive a shekel from the state. Anyone who chooses not to work does not receive money. Anyone who chooses not to serve does not receive money.” He also criticized Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Shas chairman Arye Deri directly, saying, “We don’t need your condemnations, we need to stop funding draft dodging.”

Along similar lines, Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot called the incitement “a reckless crossing of a red line” that “effectively permits the spilling of the blood of IDF commanders and soldiers.” He went on to link the episode to Netanyahu, calling it “a direct product of the culture of hatred and division” that Netanyahu has fostered “to stay in power.” Additionally, he accused the prime minister of “cynical political maneuvering” to pass legislation protecting yeshiva students from the draft.

President Herzog Weighs In

For his part, President Isaac Herzog also issued a statement, cautioning that “there is no place for curses, insults, or degrading language” toward Israel’s military leadership. “I condemn these statements in the strongest terms and call on all of us to act with respect and responsibility,” he said, adding that fixing the relationship between the state and the Haredi public would be a major task for the next government.

Shas Distances Itself

On the other hand, the Shas party, one of Netanyahu’s key ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, moved to separate itself from Yazdi’s remarks. According to the party, his comments did not reflect the views of Shas or its Council of Torah Sages. Former Shas lawmaker Rabbi Moshe Maya said he was “greatly saddened” to hear the insults directed at Zamir.

Nevertheless, sitting Shas MKs Yoav Ben-Tzur, Michael Malchieli, and Yonatan Mashriki attended the rally, despite internal unease within the party about the public attention surrounding the event. Notably, a senior Shas figure, Rabbi Yosef of the party’s Council of Torah Sages, defended the broader demonstration, telling the crowd that Israel “wins wars not because of the Iron Dome, but because of the Torah, because of the young men and the scholars.”

The Broader Context

Overall, tension between Netanyahu’s government and its ultra-Orthodox coalition partners has been building for months over the issue of Haredi military service. As a result, lawmakers have struggled to pass legislation that would regulate, and largely continue exempting, Haredi men from service.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the state can no longer maintain blanket exemptions without a law, turning the issue into one of the most explosive disputes facing the coalition. Consequently, arrests of yeshiva students who failed to report for service have fueled a wave of Haredi protests in recent weeks, and the Bnei Brak rally that triggered the IDF Chief Haredi Protest controversy was part of that wave.

With national elections looming, polls show a competitive race between Netanyahu and rivals including Eisenkot. Against this backdrop, the clash over the chief of staff’s treatment has become another flashpoint in the broader battle over the future of Haredi enlistment and the makeup of Israel’s next government.

Sources