Holocaust symbolism misused in Knesset, igniting outrage as Israel defends survival against enemies exploiting division.
A storm erupted Sunday evening inside the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after Yitzchak Goldknopf likened sanctions in the proposed conscription law to a “yellow star for Torah students.” The remark, invoking one of Jewish history’s most traumatic symbols, triggered immediate condemnation across Israel’s political spectrum.
Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth firmly rejected the comparison, stressing his respect for Torah scholars and the haredi community while warning that such language crosses moral and historical red lines. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli went further, describing the statement as evidence of severe political detachment and a failure of leadership at a time when national unity is essential.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemned Goldknopf’s words as insensitive and socially damaging, emphasizing that those who repeatedly harm Israeli cohesion, IDF soldiers, and Torah learners have no place in the governing coalition. Smotrich underscored that it is IDF soldiers—standing daily against antisemitism, jihadist violence, and terror proxies—that prevent Jews from ever wearing yellow stars again.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid delivered the most personal rebuke, recounting how his father wore a yellow star in the Budapest ghetto and his grandfather was murdered in a Nazi camp. Lapid accused Goldknopf of trivializing the Holocaust and dishonoring the sacrifices of soldiers who ensure Jewish sovereignty—something Europe’s Jews never had.
As Israel fights enemies who openly celebrate Jewish death and glorify Hamas terror, the debate exposed a painful truth: Holocaust memory must unify the nation, not be weaponized for political avoidance while others defend the Jewish state with their lives.
