Israeli Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich on Monday said that if his daughter sought his advice, he would urge her not to enlist in the IDF.

Smotrich was asked about the issue at his party’s weekly meeting in the Knesset, and he responded that the position of his Rabbanim and the Rabbanut for generations is that women shouldn’t serve in the IDF.

“I think mixed units aren’t good for professional reasons—they create a negative atmosphere and harm the IDF’s professionalism,” Smotrich said. “That’s undisputed in my opinion. To go and put them now in tanks, to mix the genders, it seems delusional—regardless of the religious aspect. That is my position, but I won’t tell other people what to do. I hope that the big liberals can also respect the values of several thousand years. I respect everyone who thinks differently than me.”

Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben Barak responded angrily on social media, calling on Dati Leumi girls to rebel against their Rabbanim and enlist in the IDF.

“I call on the daughters of Religious Zionism—don’t listen to your Rabbanim, don’t listen to your Knesset members,” he wrote.

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