Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah political faction, said on Sunday that religious soldiers were committing murder by serving in the military.

Lando specifically denounced those in the religious Zionist community who serve in the IDF during a meeting with the heads of the Mir Yeshiva at his home in Bnei Brak.

“If the state sends people, soldiers, for the honor of the state, and they kill people, is that also permissible?” he asked. “It’s very much murder.”

He went on, apparently referring to the government, “So they incite murder. They wage wars not for the sake of salvation, but only for the honor of the state.”

The exchange was the latest flare-up of tension over the longstanding exemptions from military service given to ultra-Orthodox men. Lando’s comments on Sunday were far from the first criticism he and other leading Haredi rabbis have issued of the IDF and its soldiers.

Netanyahu condemned Lando’s comments in a statement released by his office.

“IDF soldiers, secular and Haredi, leave their homes, their work, and their families, and risk their lives in order to protect the State of Israel, its citizens, and all of the nation of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “They deserve deep appreciation, gratitude, and full support from all segments of the public, and certainly from the world of Torah.”

Netanyahu’s statement did not inspire remorse among the members of Degel HaTorah — one of the two factions that make up the Ashkenazi Haredi United Torah Judaism party — instead prompting the faction, led by MK Moshe Gafni, to come to Lando’s defense.

Insisting that Lando’s remarks were “holy,” the political faction insisted that those who are not religious, and therefore do not........

© The Times of Israel