Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid announced that "if there are confrontations in the north, there will not be enough soldiers to engage in them." Lapid clarified that "if the Haredim do not enlist, we do not have the right to issue additional orders for reservists." Earlier, Lapid stated: "We all bear the same burden, and those who do not enlist will not receive money from the state." He added that "if 66,000 young Haredim are drafted, the army will receive 105 new battalions necessary for Israel's security."
This stance comes following a statement from the Chief Rabbi of Sephardic Jews (Eastern Jews), Yitzhak Yosef, regarding the refusal of military conscription in the Israeli army. Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said that if the religious individuals are forced into military service, they will all travel abroad. The Israeli Channel 12 reported Yosef's remarks: "If we are forced to join the army, we will all travel outside the country, buy tickets, and go," referring to the Haredi religious individuals. He further expressed outrage saying, "There is nothing of the sort; the secularists are putting the state at risk," and continued, "They must understand this; all the secularists who do not understand this matter."
