Soldiers given religious motivational speeches during Operation Protective Edge

Soldiers say religious speeches were given in communal areas, though soldiers were not required to attend.

08/06/2014 18:06
By JEREMY SHARON

Complaints surfaced on Wednesday about rabbis who gave motivational speeches of a religious nature to soldiers at staging areas for the ground operation in Gaza.

In once recording broadcast by Reshet Bet radio, a rabbi speaking to reservist soldiers spoke about what he described as the differences between the soldiers and their enemy.

“We’re talking about beasts of men, I’m sorry for using such language, but that’s what we’re talking about,” the rabbi said. “They are prepared to be killed in order to kill a baby. They are not worth anything. They are full of hate. The difference between us and them is that we are full of love and they are full of hate.”

In another recording, a rabbi addressing reservists says that when the soldiers return home, “we will create a more caring, sensitive, more loving, we’re writing a new chapter in history, a new chapter in the Bible.”

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Soldiers-given-religious-motivational-speeches-during-Operation-Protective-Edge-370243