Warning from Israeli Rabbi: 'If they force us to join the army...'

Israel's private television channel Channel 12 featured Yitzhak Yosef's statements on the matter.

Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yosef, referring to religious Israelis, used the words, "If they force us to join the army, we will all leave the country. We will buy tickets and go."

Chief Rabbi Yosef also said, "There is no such thing. The secular are endangering the state," adding that all secular Israelis who do not understand this situation need to realize it.

Noting that "without the Torah, without religious schools, the army would have no success," Chief Rabbi Yosef claimed that the Israeli army is successful thanks to the religious who believe in the Torah.

Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yosef had previously warned the army regarding the behavior of soldiers on December 14, 2023, after Israeli soldiers occupied a mosque in Jenin and recited Jewish prayers over the loudspeakers.

According to Israel's state television KAN, Yosef wrote in a letter addressed to the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces, "Soldiers must be taught that the religious feelings of members of other faiths should not be harmed."

There are two chief rabbis in Israel, one representing Sephardic Jews and the other representing Ashkenazi Jews.

Each of the Chief Rabbis serves for a 10-year term following elections in which 150 people, including mayors, local council members, ministers, and members of the Israeli Parliament, participate.