Channel 14 journalist Yinon Magal came to the defense Monday morning of Shas’s new campaign video, which depicts a family with one son serving in the IDF and his brother learning in yeshivah, arguing that criticism of the video is unjustified.
Speaking on his 103FM program, Magal rejected claims that Shas was cynically using the image of an IDF soldier for political purposes. “As someone who pushed for the draft law, there was no party that worked harder for the draft law than Shas,” he said.
Magal then criticized what he described as the “demonization” of yeshivah bochurim. He said that he recently saw footage of thousands of talmidim at Yeshivas Chevron at the beginning of Elul Zman and found himself debating whether to share it on his news channel.
“Suddenly I find myself saying: What, should I share it or not? As if it’s already become uncomfortable,” he said. “How did we get here? What a demonization they’ve carried out against those who learn Torah.”
“Fortunate are you, talmidei chachamim; fortunate are you that you have Torah learning and that you have the Gemara,” Magal continued. “Keep learning for the sake of Am Yisrael.”
At the same time, he praised IDF soldiers, saying: “These are tzaddikim and those are tzaddikim, and one does not come at the expense of the other.”
Magal then spoke about his own family. “I have one son in the army, in a special unit, and I have one son in yeshivah. I have to say that I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. It fills me with so much joy, pride, and happiness that I have a son who learns Torah all day.”
He said the value he places on his son’s Torah learning outweighs any financial windfall.
“If I had the choice between winning NIS 50 million in the lottery today or having my son learn Torah in yeshivah all day — I would rather have my son learn Torah all day.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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