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Son of rabbi who verbally attacked IDF chief says father receives no state funding whatsoever

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Yehuda Yazdi, son of a rabbi who verbally attacked the IDF chief of staff, stated his father receives no state funding.
  • He explained his father's harsh remarks stemmed from perceived persecution and anger over a soldier being sent to detention for a messianic patch.
  • Yazdi denied reports that his father receives hundreds of thousands of shekels annually from the state, asserting he only receives a small monthly sum from a kollel, which he has since left.

Yehuda Yazdi, the son of Rabbi Aryeh Yazdi, has defended his father's recent verbal attack on IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, asserting that the rabbi receives no state funding whatsoever. The elder Yazdi was heard on Monday cursing Zamir and calling for his name to be erased.

He gets no shekel.

— Yehuda YazdiDenying that his father receives any state funding.

Speaking on 103FM, Yehuda Yazdi attempted to contextualize his father's outburst, suggesting it arose from a sense of deep grievance. He specifically cited the case of a soldier reportedly sent to detention over a messianic patch as a source of his father's distress. "He feels, when he hears these things, that here in the army Jews are fighting the coming of the Messiah," Yazdi explained.

Don’t forget where he was speaking from: They threw him into the garbage can with a wheelbarrow. And from the garbage can he shouted.

— Yehuda YazdiExplaining the context and perceived provocation behind his father's harsh remarks.

He vehemently denied claims that his father receives substantial state funding, including reports of hundreds of thousands of shekels annually. "Don’t forget where he was speaking from: They threw him into the garbage can with a wheelbarrow. And from the garbage can he shouted," Yazdi said, painting a picture of his father's perceived marginalization. He clarified that his father previously received a modest sum of 600 shekels a month from a kollel but has not received that for two years.

Whoever said yesterday that Rabbi Yazdi should be sued and that he has a kollel, that is a complete lie. He gets no shekel from the state.

— Yehuda YazdiReiterating his denial of state funding and refuting specific reports.

Yazdi also touched upon theories of different strata within Israeli society, mentioning "First Israel, Second Israel, and an Israel that no one counts, the old yishuv." He described his father as someone dedicated to Torah study within traditional confines, who is now facing persecution. "This is a person who, within the four cubits of halacha, studies Torah all day, and today he is persecuted to the neck," he stated.

He feels, when he hears these things, that here in the army Jews are fighting the coming of the Messiah.

— Yehuda YazdiExplaining his father's perspective on the IDF's actions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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