IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday lit Hanukkah candles with fighters and commanders from the Haredi Hasmonean Brigade at the Tevetz base, praising their service and stressing the military’s efforts to expand ultra-Orthodox enlistment.
Speaking during the lighting of the eighth Hanukkah candle, Zamir commended the brigade’s operational activity over the past year and said it demonstrates that combat service can be successfully combined with maintaining a Haredi way of life.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir dances with troops of the Hasmonean Brigade
(Video: IDF)
“We are working to expand the ranks of the IDF and to recruit more Haredim in order to ensure our readiness,” Zamir told the soldiers. “We are building a groundbreaking Haredi command cadre. You are the modern day Maccabees.”
Zamir emphasized that the IDF must remain a people’s army open to all segments of society. “The operational activity of this brigade proves that it is possible to combine fighting with preserving a Haredi lifestyle,” he said. “The IDF is the army of the people, and it has a duty to be accessible to the entire population.”
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Zamir: 'The operational activity of this brigade proves that it is possible to combine fighting with preserving a Haredi lifestyle'
(Photo: IDF)
He warned that Israel faces significant security challenges and a shortage of fighters. “Many tasks lie ahead of us. We cannot exist without a strong, alert and capable military,” Zamir said. “The strength of the IDF lies in its service members, from across Israeli society. Security needs are extensive, and we are lacking fighters.”
Later, Zamir addressed the future of Haredi enlistment, noting that the brigade is expected to grow and that additional integration frameworks are being developed. He said the first commanders course for the brigade has recently concluded and that an officers course for Haredi fighters will open in the future.
“We are building a pioneering Haredi leadership generation that will lead in all arenas,” he said. “The name of the brigade reflects its fighters. You are at the heart of operational activity, defending the people of Israel, the land of Israel and Jewish tradition while maintaining a Haredi lifestyle.”
Zamir added that the lighting of the eighth Hanukkah candle was also a moment of remembrance, noting that the IDF continues efforts to return the body of the last fallen captive, Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, for burial in Israel.
“We will not consider our mission complete until he is brought home,” he said.