Ultra-Orthodox candidate draws condemnation over Holocaust comparison
Eliakim Stark also claims Israel treats terrorists better than ultra-Orthodox Jews, drawing condemnation from Lapid, Liberman and Ofer Winter’s party
United Torah Judaism candidate Eliakim Stark drew condemnation after comparing the situation of ultra-Orthodox men facing military draft orders to the Holocaust. Stark, sixth on the party’s list for the October 27 election, spoke at a campaign event in Beit Shemesh, west of Jerusalem, on Thursday.
Stark complained that men who risked arrest at Ben Gurion Airport over their military status could not travel abroad to meet prospective brides. “Our situation is close to what happened during the Holocaust,” he said. “It reminds me of stories from our grandparents.”
He also claimed it was “better to be a terrorist” than an ultra-Orthodox Jew, alleging that terrorists’ families retained housing, daycare and National Insurance benefits denied to Haredi families. He attacked Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg, accusing him of targeting the ultra-Orthodox to demonstrate strength.
Yair Lapid invoked his father’s survival of the Holocaust and said a strong Israeli military prevented another genocide, accusing Stark of encouraging draft evasion. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman called the remarks “horrific” and criticized Netanyahu’s dependence on UTJ.
Ofer Winter’s right-wing People of Israel party called the comments “a disgrace to any Israeli and any Jew” and called on Netanyahu, his ministers and ultra-Orthodox leaders to condemn them. It argued that the next coalition must not depend on UTJ for its majority.
The dispute followed a unanimous High Court ruling in June 2024 that the government had no legal basis to exempt yeshiva students from military service. Subsequent enforcement measures included draft orders and cuts to state funding for institutions whose students were required to enlist.