Political Debate on Military Service in Israel

I'm asking you, all of you, that the— that the call to refuse service…

Is there no, no regret about that? No, Mr. President.

First, let me say this with a great deal of respect.

We've known each other for many years, and I respect both your work and your views.

There was no call to refuse service, and I object to adopting this narrative that there was a political side here that called for refusal.

As an aside, just a few months ago, a group of senior rabbis aligned with a party in the coalition threatened the army, saying that if the army acted according to the law and advanced equal rights for soldiers, they would instruct their students not to enlist.

And the person serving today as Israel's finance minister and as a minister in the Ministry of Defense, published an article on a leading news website in which he called on students at Zionist yeshivas to skip an enlistment cycle to teach the army a lesson about integrating women into combat roles.

We, with great pride, stand alongside, behind, and in front of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Israelis, and I'll say more than that, thanks to their taking to the streets Elections were held as scheduled in the State of Israel.

Exactly.