A haredi IDF soldier filed a criminal complaint with the police today
against the haredi daily HaPeles, which is the mouthpiece
of a leading haredi rabbi, Shmuel Auerbach. The soldier claims
that an editorial in the paper condemning "collaborators" from the
haredi community who serve in the IDF has endangered his life and the
lives of his comrades.
Haredi Soldier Files Criminal Complaint Against Haredi Paper For Incitement To Violence Against Haredi Soldiers
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
A haredi IDF soldier filed a criminal complaint with the police today against the haredi daily HaPeles, Ynet reported, which is the mouthpiece of a leading haredi rabbi, Shmuel Auerbach.
The soldier claims that an editorial in the paper condemning "collaborators" from the haredi community who serve in the IDF has endangered his life and the lives of his comrades.
“There are collaborators among us who appear in military attire in the heart of our neighborhoods, with the purpose of instilling in the minds of our youth the idea that such dress is perfectly legitimate.…One hopes this destructive phenomenon will disappear by the grace of Heaven, and visible and disguised collaborators alike will realize their place is not amongst us,” the paper’s editorial said.
The soldier alleges that verbal abuse and threats against him and his family have escalated since the editorial was printed. He told police he feared haredi leader’s violent rhetoric would increase the likelihood of a soldier suffering physical harm from haredi zealots.
HaPeles rejected the haredi soldier’s complaints.
"The newspaper did not incite to act violently against any Jew. The newspaper warned against the growing phenomenon of those trying to seduce and persuade ultra-Orthodox youths to abandon their way of life, the Torah, in order to join the army. While in the eyes of the general public, conscripting to the military is the right thing, in the eyes of haredim the Torah is that which ensures the existence of the Jewish people in Israel and in the Diaspora and that will ensure the future of the Jewish people,” the paper said.
Israel Police have reportedly launched an investigation.