MK Gafni of UTJ is upset that Chabad shluchim would be recognized as having performed National Service
I don't claim to understand Israeli politics. Never really did. As an American Jew I have a hard time understanding the Israeli Charedi mentality sometimes. I don't claim to know better, but I'm puzzled by what gets published in the frum press over there. I can understand that they're in a major bind over there - with mandatory military conscription making it impossible for most men to seek employment, but what I don't get is why they don't come out and say it! Say that you want to go to work but the Government won't allow you to. You hear it here and there from guys like Yisroel Eichler, but the Litvakkes make as if mamesh they all wanna learn in Kolel forever... But I gotta believe that when Gafni saw that Chabad shluchim would be recognized as having done שירות לאומי he blew a gasket. Here he is fighting the Government for months and months, and then these blasted Chabadskers go and pull the rug out from under him! Remember now; Moshe Gafni is an old Degel guy, brought to power by the late Ponovizher Rosh Yeshiva. He has no real love for us Chabadskers. We all and always knew they weren't חרדים. I couldn't even tell you if this was an officially-sanctioned idea, or whether it was a few politically connected guys in Chabad who came up with the idea and pushed it through. I don't even like it, truthfully; it seems like אני את נפשי הצלתי and everyone else can figure it out on their own...