Former prime minister Naftali Bennett warned on Tuesday that the IDF would collapse due to a lack of manpower if haredim (ultra-Orthodox) are not drafted during the next government’s term, following the October elections.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu warns of security threats, but he himself is leading the most serious threat of all: mass draft evasion and the collapse of the IDF,” Bennett said.
He made the remarks at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where families of October 7 victims built a sukkah for the holiday called the “Sukkah of Failure.”
Bennett’s B’Yachad party is one of the leading parties in the opposition bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu in the October elections.
“I am here today at Hostages Square, which symbolizes the terrible failure of the October 7 government, which has yet to be investigated. Everyone who was part of this failure must immediately step down,” Bennett said.
Bennett says he will form an October 7 commission of inquiry in the next government
The former prime minister has vowed that, if he is part of the next government, he will seek to establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate the government’s failures surrounding October 7.“Everyone is focused on the warnings Netanyahu ignored before October 7, but when the next disaster happens, no one will be able to say they were not warned about this one.”
“The IDF is on the verge of collapse. The chief of staff has raised 10 red flags, saying the IDF is short 20,000 combat soldiers, but Netanyahu is ignoring them and dismantling the IDF,” he added.
Bennett said that he has gone into the field and spoken with officers and soldiers who told him that the shortage of combat soldiers “is already costing us soldiers’ lives.”
“They say soldiers are being wounded and killed by drones because there are not enough observers and snipers to protect them. The long reserve-duty rotations are wearing down the soldiers’ operational readiness, and that too is costing us casualties,” he noted.
Bennett also said that during combat, “they are forced to abandon positions they have already captured because there is no one to hold the ground, and then they have to recapture them at the cost of bloodshed.”
“Voting for the draft-evasion coalition is a direct vote against IDF soldiers and against those who serve.
Bennett: 'We will enlist everyone'
“We will enlist everyone, stop funding draft evaders, and strengthen the IDF,” he added.
The haredi parties – Shas and United Torah Judaism – have encouraged Netanayhu’s coalition to advance legislation that critics argue would not increase haredi enlistment.
The haredi parties boycotted coalition voting during the government’s term, stating that they would not cooperate with Netanyahu’s coalition until there was advancement with the contentious legislation they had been pushing for.
The IDF has repeatedly warned of an urgent manpower shortage after three years of war.
In March, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said the IDF could soon collapse if no solution was found for the manpower shortage.
Bennett has drawn a red line against forming a coalition with the haredi parties, and called for reversing contentious haredi-backed legislation passed by the outgoing government.
He has also taken a hardline stance toward haredi conscription to the IDF, as his party’s platform seeks to cut all state funding for anyone evading military service and bar any exemptions from the IDF.
He has also developed a plan to reform Israel’s education system, proposing that a government led by him would cut state funding to haredi educational institutions that do not teach core curriculum studies.
Einav Zangauker: Netanyahu is trying to frighten Israel with scare tactics
Einav Zangauker, an activist and the mother of former hostage Matan Zangauker, accused Netanyahu of scare tactics at the Sukkot event.
"Netanyahu did not listen to the warnings: not from the IDF chief of staff, not from the Shin Bet chief, not from the Egyptians, not from the Emiratis. The entire world called to warn him, and he ignored them. The families who are here paid the price for the failure," she said.
"Tonight, Netanyahu is trying to frighten the people of Israel and portray himself as someone who issues warnings. Back then, he ignored all the warning signs. He talked about people ‘exaggerating’ and posed for photographs wearing rose-colored glasses," she said.
“The same Netanyahu who ignored the warnings then is now using fear tactics against the Israeli public."
"This is the most despicable influence campaign we have ever known. A pathetic campaign intended to absolve them of responsibility for the greatest failure since the establishment of the state," she added.
She emphasized that the failures of the October 7 massacre cannot fall off the nation's conscience, and that those in power still must be held responsible.
I call on everyone from here: Do not let the October 7 failure fall off the agenda, and do not let fear obscure the simple fact — whoever had their hand on the wheel on October 7 cannot continue making decisions about Israel’s security. They need to be thrown out of office. They are not fit to make decisions.”
Eisenkot promises state commission of inquiry into October 7 in new government during Sukkot event
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot promised that, if elected, his government would form a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre days after coming into office.
“Three years since the greatest failure since the establishment of the state. In recent days, new revelations have emerged about what information was presented and what was done with it, deepening the failure, the scale of the failure, the arrogance, and the disregard that led to the greatest failure," he said in remarks at the Sukkah of Failure on Monday.
He also appeared to hit out directly at Netanyahu and accused him of being irresponsible with the citizens of Israel and refusing to take accountability.
"We spent hundreds of hours in this square, together with the families who waged a heroic battle to bring their sons and daughters home. On the one hand, we are glad that everyone returned home, and deeply pained by the fact that many could have returned if we had made braver decisions.
"I say ‘we’ because I was a member of the war cabinet for eight months, and I know the word responsibility, unlike someone else who does not know the word ‘responsibility,’ does not dare use it, and three years later has still not established a state commission of inquiry. But I no longer expect him to do so."
"What I promise is that in the first weeks after the next government is formed, we will establish a state commission of inquiry with a broad mandate. It will examine what happened on that terrible day, one year before it, and a decade before it, primarily in order to prevent the next October 7, and out of a deep obligation to the dead, the wounded, IDF soldiers, and the citizens of the State of Israel," he added.
He went on to say that he hoped to create a better future for all Israelis.
"I am looking ahead to see that we do everything possible to be worthy of the price [of those lost on October 7]. I do not want to bring politics into this, but being worthy of the price means bringing in a government that will work for the citizens, be committed to their security, be committed to caring for them, and bring hope and a better future for the shared future of us all.”