UTJ member: Leftist kibbutz members are responsible for October 7, should not come to memorial

According to an article in the Friday edition of the Haredi newspaper Hamodia, Menachem Klugman, a member of the Haredi United Torah Judaism party, blamed left-wing Kibbutz members for October 7 and claimed that they were attempting to deflect blame.

Klugman is number 107 on the UTJ Knesset lists.

To the shock of many of the attendees, Klugman's article was read out by Yesh Atid MK Naor Shiri during a meeting of the Knesset's Finance Committee.

In the article, Klugman directly blamed the kibbutz members for failing to prevent October 7, saying, "The members of the left-wing kibbutzim were full participants in the great security failure, and they join hands with all their partners from the left in the various security departments to escape their responsibility for the terrible massacre."

Klugman then doubled down and claimed that the Kibbutz members were deflecting blame onto others, "What's worse is the joint effort of all the leftists to place the blame on someone who is not guilty at all for this disaster."

Victims should be excluded from memorial

He also said that the victims of the October 7 massacre from those kibbutzim should not participate in memorial services because they need to ask for forgiveness for their actions on October 7.

"It is fitting that the people of the kibbutzim of the Gaza Strip, who bear heavy responsibility for the disaster that occurred on the holiday of Simchat Torah [October 7], should not be participants in the state memorial that the government decided on. Because they share in the horrific disaster, it is correct for them to hold a separate memorial intended for themselves, not for 'remembrance,' but to ask for forgiveness and forgiveness for their part in the disaster and acceptance to change their lifestyles."

Shiri called for Klugman to be jailed for writing such "antisemitic" content. Other MKs, including Naama Lazimi (Democrats) and Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid), also criticized the article and questioned whether government ministers supported the statements.

Hamodia is the most popular paper in the Haredi world. It is directly controlled by the Gerrer Hassidim, which is represented by UTJ.

According to Walla, the newspaper's political content is subject to a preliminary review by the UTJ Chairman and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf. The article was likely published without his knowledge; however, so far, no member of the group has withdrawn it.