Top Haredi Rabbi Slams State Founders, Zionism, and Religious Zionists

A leaked recording has revealed harsh statements made by Rabbi Dov Lando, a senior Lithuanian Haredi leader and head of the Slabodka Yeshiva, during a private meeting in his Bnei Brak home. The 96-year-old rabbi, considered highly influential in the Haredi political sphere and courted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sharply criticized the founders of the State of Israel, Zionism, and the Religious Zionist community. He suggested it would have been preferable for the UN or Arabs to rule the land, claiming Zionism brought "material disasters" and caused increased Arab hatred.

Rabbi Lando also addressed the Religious Zionist soldiers fighting in the current conflict, stating that their deaths were a consequence of their rabbis teaching "distorted Torah" and that they were fighting for the "honor of the state" rather than for genuine salvation. He asserted that only Torah scholars in yeshivas truly protect the land. He further described the secular Israelis of today as lacking any connection to Judaism, calling the establishment of a secular state a "great desecration of God's name."

His remarks drew swift condemnation from opposition leaders. Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the National Unity Party, called the statements "manifest anti-Zionism" and urged Zionist parties not to sit in a government that relies on such views. Naftali Bennett, former prime minister and chairman of the Together party, labeled the comments "anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist, and against the IDF," criticizing Netanyahu and Smotrich for transferring billions to Haredi parties. Opposition leader Yair Lapid stated that anyone who desecrates the sacrifice of Religious Zionist soldiers cannot be part of any Israeli government, and Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, accused Haredi parties of taking state funds without serving or defending it.