Former IDF Chief Sparks Outrage Comparing Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis to Ayatollahs
Former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz compared Israeli ultra-Orthodox rabbis to Iranian ayatollahs, triggering fury from United Torah Judaism and harsh counterattacks.
Former IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz has drawn fierce condemnation from the United Torah Judaism party after comparing Israeli ultra-Orthodox rabbis to Iranian ayatollahs during a podcast appearance with Moshe Fabrikant.
Halutz stated during the interview: "I see no difference between the ayatollahs in Iran and the rabbis in Israel. Is Rabbi Hirsch better just because he speaks Yiddish? Are Shas rabbis better? In Iran there is no Sephardic ayatollah and no Ashkenazi ayatollah, there it is just one."
In response, United Torah Judaism Chairman MK Yaakov Asher launched a scathing attack against Halutz, telling him to remove his shoes before speaking of the rabbis. Asher invoked Halutz's past actions during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, accusing him of selling stocks moments before sending soldiers into battle, and remarked that such low behavior is rarely seen even in the headquarters of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
The controversy follows previous remarks made by Halutz in September regarding reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received explicit warnings from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed days before the October 7 massacre. Halutz claimed that Netanyahu possessed crucial intelligence and deliberately concealed it from authorities.
