Haredi extremists compare senior IDF officer to Hitler, army service to Auschwitz

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman described the campaign as “intolerable” and said that the country could not allow such incitement to pass.

By JEREMY SHARON
Updated: MAY 21, 2017 03:30
An ultra-Orthodox Jew gestures during a protest in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem (photo credit: REUTERS)
An ultra-Orthodox Jew gestures during a protest in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Ultra-Orthodox extremists have begun a campaign of incitement against the head of the IDF Manpower Directorate, Brig.-Gen. Moti Almoz, comparing him to Hitler and military service to Auschwitz.
In the early hours of Friday morning, several dozen extremists went to protest outside Almoz’s house in Moshav Kfar Tavor in the Lower Galilee and distributed flyers bearing their inflammatory message.
“God will take revenge for the sons and daughters of Israel whose souls were burned in the army of destruction by the trader of souls, the head of the Manpower Directorate,” read the flyer.
“Moti Almoz, head of the Manpower Directorate, who sells his soul for money: How long will you burn the souls of the sons and daughters of Israel in the crematorium of Auschwitz – the army of destruction,” it continued.
“Know that there is justice and there is a judge. Your end will be bitter like Hitler and his friends.”
Following the protest, police announced that an investigation into incitement against Almoz had been initiated.
The protest and flyer triggered fierce criticism and denunciations from numerous political leaders.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman described the campaign as “intolerable” and said that the country could not allow such incitement to pass, calling on the police and the State Attorney’s Office to prosecute the people behind the campaign.
Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid said that the extremists behind the campaign had “lost all connection to Jewish values,” and said that comparing the IDF to Auschwitz is a criminal act.
“Someone who attacks IDF generals in this manner needs to be sent to prison,” said Lapid.
Over the last few years, extremist factions in the haredi world have conducted a campaign of severe incitement against haredi enlistment to the IDF based on their antipathy for integration into Israeli society.