Tkuma leader Bezalel Smotrich slammed IDF policy efforts to integrate transgender people into its ranks, saying that, “next time the IDF will ask for more funding to the defense budget, we'll ask how much do these impressive 'achievements' cost us.” אין ספק של'הישג' הזה תהיה תרומה מכרעת לחוסנו של צה'ל וליכולתו לעמוד באתגרי הביטחון של מדינת ישראל... בפעם הבאה כשבצה'ל יבואו לבקש תוספות לתקציב הביטחון נשאל כמה ה'הישגים' המרשימים האלה עולים לנו. נדמה לי שיש טעות במבזק שמימין לידיעה - את מכת החום קיבל מישהו בצמרת צה'ל... pic.twitter.com/SicrXJhRH5 — בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) August 7, 2019 The article argued that the number of trans people serving in the army is growing, and includes an interview with a trans person who completed his service as a male after having a sex-change operation before his enlistment. The former IDF soldier said he was treated with sensitivity and allowed to keep his beard and not shave, as most men are asked to during their service, since he wanted to maintain this masculine element in his appearance. He was also asked about the extent of his operation to determine if he may be housed with other men. The new policy includes referring to trans people by their preferred pronoun, allowing them their own living quarters and attempting to cater to their needs in as individual way as possible. Smotrich, referring to an incident on Wednesday when a soldier suffered heat stroke, joked that it was someone in the IDF top command who spent too much time in the sun. Online users were quick to slam the politician, starting with the openly gay leader of Meretz, Nitzan Horowitz, who said that the person who gave Smotrich a seat in the cabinet suffered from heat stroke and ending with users who called him a “mental midget.” Others suggested he move to the Gaza Strip and enjoy the family values of the Hamas movement, wondered why he is so concerned with the sexual choices made by others, and pointed out that the money spent on trans people in the IDF is a fraction of the cost of integrating religious soldiers in the armed forces. Others were supportive of hisviews, saying that the army has one job – to kill the enemy – and should not spend resources on such a tiny population group as trans people. Some were gleeful over what they hoped is the defeat of the Union of Right Wing Parties of which Smotrich is a member, and expressed their wish that next time the IDF requests more funding, he'll be warming the benches in the opposition.
