Ultra-orthodox rabbis criticise Zionism
Rabbi Dov Lando, a leader of the Lithuanian strain of ultra-Orthodox Judaism in Israel, has criticised Zionism in a recent letter sent to the editor-in-chief of Yated Ne’eman, one of the country’s leading ultra-Orthodox newspapers.
“Zionism is a movement whose goal is to place the people of Israel on a distinctly secular basis, whose content is heresy and rebellion against the Kingdom of Heaven,” Lando wrote to editor Rabbi Israel Friedman, adding that there was “no permission” to join with Zionists.
Lando, who heads one of the oldest yeshivas (orthodox seminaries) in Israel, is known for his anti-Zionist views.
During an interview in which he revealed the contents of Lando’s letter, Friedman also expressed anti-Zionist views.
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According to Friedman, Zionism attempted to create a “new Jew”, contradicting the values of ultra-Orthodox society.
“Zionism does not fit our worldview,” he said. “The people of Israel are 3,000 years old, while the Israeli people have only existed for 80 years.”
“We must continue on our path and maintain the walls of separation and alienation,” he concluded, referring to the Orthodox way of life.
Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, there has been a heated public debate on whether the ultra-Orthodox should have to enlist to the army.
Since the creation of the state of Israel, the ultra-Orthodox have been exempted from conscription to enable them to study in seminaries. Those studies are funded by the state.
“We don’t believe in the rule of the infidels, and we don’t show up in their recruitment offices.”
In a video published by the Israeli minister of construction and housing on X, Yitzhak Goldknopf, a group of Israeli men sing songs against being drafted into the Israeli army pic.twitter.com/sb4JZCZQA0
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) March 24, 2025
Earlier this week, Yitzhak Goldknopf, Israel’s minister of housing and construction, and head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, was filmed at a wedding singing: “We don’t believe in the rule of the infidels, and we don’t show up in their recruitment offices” and “We will die and not enlist”.
The video was criticised in Israel, including within the ranks of the far-right government, prompting Goldknopf to apologise.
Israeli city near Lebanon is a ‘ghost town’
Kiryat Shmona, one of Israel’s northernmost cities and closest to the border with Lebanon, resembles a ghost town, according to an article published this week on Ynet.
“Stores are closing on a daily basis, the large mall is abandoned and will not open until August, and business owners and entrepreneurs are struggling to cope with the lack of support and the bureaucracy in order to receive compensation,” the report stated.
A fabric store owner said that most residents had not yet returned to the city and the evacuated surrounding communities, and that “maybe one or two customers come here a day”.
Residents told Ynet that before the war, Kiryat Shmona, with its 24,000 residents, was a commercial centre in northern Israel. But in the wake of hostilities across the border with Lebanon, the city had now been dubbed a “disaster-stricken area.”
Avichai Stern, the mayor of Kiryat Shmona, who recently won another term, has questioned the ability of the city to return to normal.
Stern’s deputy, Zeevik Zvili, said in an interview last month, “We were forced to return to Kiryat Shmona; we don’t have a sense of security.”
According to Zwilli, only 60 percent of residents had returned to the city after evacuating at the beginning of the war.
New military chief accused of being ‘against the army’
Eyal Zamir, the new chief of staff of the Israeli military, has been criticised in sections of Israel’s media for failing to challenge the government’s resumption of war.
Upon his appointment, Zamir was praised by politicians and journalists from across the political spectrum for his vast military experience.
But Yagil Levy, an expert in military-social relations at the Open University, wrote this week in Haaretz that the chief of staff was “against the army”.
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According to Levy, all previous chiefs of staff in Israel’s history had made efforts to strengthen the army, but that it was “doubtful” whether Zamir would continue that.
“Zamir is not only refraining from standing up to the politicians and opposing the renewal of the war in Gaza – he is doing the opposite,” Levy said.
According to the columnist, Zamir had ignored the exhaustion of soldiers, the danger to Israeli captives, the killing of Palestinians and protests against the far-right government’s judicial reforms.
Zvi Barel, another commentator in Haaretz, also criticised the army following the renewal of the war. “The new war that is creeping up in Gaza is neither a defensive war nor a war of no choice. This is a political war,” Barel wrote.
According to Barel, the plans for this new war were written even before US President Donald Trump took office.
He said that the far-right in Israel felt like they now had a “historic opportunity”, in both the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Barel added that no one would be surprised if the establishment of settlements in Gaza was soon added to the war’s goals.
He concluded by asking whether a “government’s army” was now developing instead of a people’s army, and whether the loyalty of soldiers would soon be tested by their “willingness to kill and be killed”.
*Israeli press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.
