Rav Eliyahu Rahamim Zini is the Rosh Yeshiva of a Hesder Yeshiva in Haifa and former rabbi of the Technion. Excerpts in English follow:
“Lest we be told that this is the price that every war demands, this is not true, because the testimonies of so many soldiers point to the conduct of a criminal war in an unforgivable way.”
“As early as 2018 in Sivan, the day after the Sabbath in which ten soldiers lost their lives, I published an article in which I accused the military and political leadership of actual murder. It is difficult to know who bears the terrible responsibility that will never be forgiven for this bloodshed, is the entire cabinet made up of US workers?”
Referring to October 7: “The bearers of the greatest responsibility are…all those who on the night of Simchat Torah last year did nothing to prevent or at least reduce the terrible disaster”
“The General Staff sends them to occupy parts of the Gaza Strip, and then demands that they withdraw. And since the terrorists are more intelligent than him, they return to their place, these soldiers imbued with endless dedication for our people are sent again a second, third, fourth, and sometimes even a fifth time to conquer at a terrible cost of blood every time.”
Unfortunately, he consistently attributes the failures of Israel’s political and military leadership to stupidity and arrogance. What will it take for the Hesder world to finally realize that the leadership is at least as intelligent as they are, and that the crimes being perpetrated on our finest, most idealistic soldiers are intentional and deliberate?
If one can already accuse people of (mass) murder, over a period of many years, as Rabbi Zini does, is it that big a stretch to consider that it was premeditated?
