The Media Line: Eisenkot: Cursing IDF Chief of Staff ‘Endangers the Lives’ of Commanders and Soldiers  

Eisenkot: Cursing IDF Chief of Staff ‘Endangers the Lives’ of Commanders and Soldiers  

By The Media Line Staff  

Israeli officials strongly condemned remarks by Rabbi Aryeh Yazdi, who called for Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir’s memory to be “erased” and accused the Israeli military of promoting conduct that violates the Torah during an anti-conscription demonstration in Bnei Brak on Monday.  

The remarks were made as hundreds of haredi men gathered to protest mandatory military conscription. Addressing the crowd, Yazdi declared, “The cursed chief of staff, may his name and memory be erased, sent a soldier to prison…” He also claimed that Israel was an “impure country” for having an army that “educates for the most severe offenses in the Torah.”  

The comments drew immediate condemnation from Israeli leaders, who said the rhetoric crossed a dangerous line.  

Gadi Eisenkot, head of Yashar!, called the remarks “the wild incitement” and “a reckless crossing of a red line that effectively endangers the lives of IDF commanders and soldiers.”  

President Isaac Herzog also denounced the statement, saying, “Even in times of deep division, there is no place for curses, insults or degrading language, especially when it concerns the supreme commander of the IDF and our soldiers, our sons and daughters.”  

Yazdi’s speech centered on opposition to mandatory military service for the ultra-Orthodox community. In addition to criticizing Zamir over the imprisonment of a soldier, he argued that the existence of an army that, in his view, “educates for the most severe offenses in the Torah” rendered Israel an “impure country.”  

The phrase “may his name and memory be erased” carries exceptional significance in Jewish tradition and is reserved for those regarded as having committed the gravest offenses and for enemies of the Jewish people.