Who is Dov Lando, the Israeli rabbi criticising Zionism?

Dov Lando, one of Israel’s leading ultra‑Orthodox rabbis, has become the centrepiece of controversy following public comments that denigrate Zionism.

In a recent video that was circulated online, the 96‑year‑old rabbi is heard describing Zionism as the cause of countless “disasters” suffered by the Jewish people and implying that many Jewish Israelis would have been better off without a state.

Background on Rabbi Lando

Lando is regarded as the head of Israel’s Lithuanian ultra‑Orthodox community, born in Poland and raised within the Lithuanian‑style tradition in Israeli Bnei Brak.

He serves as a member of Meitzer Gedolei HaTorah, the council of senior ultra‑orthodox rabbis that provides religious guidance to the sector, and chairs the Degel HaTorah party. This party is part of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) coalition, which supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Lando’s critique of Zionism

Media reports indicate that a recent video shows Lando delivering sharp criticisms of Zionism, military service, and secular Israeli society.

In the clip, the rabbi asserts that Zionism “caused the Arabs to hate us” and brought both physical and spiritual “disasters” upon the Jewish people. He further claims that living well could be possible “without a state” and suggests that international or Palestinian rule would have been “the best situation” for Jews.

“Soldiers who follow Religious Zionism — a branch that upholds Zionism — are being killed because their rabbis teach them a distorted Torah,” Lando states, and adds that many military actions are undertaken “not to save lives, but for the honor of the state.”

Additionally, the veteran rabbi lambasks secular Israelis, whom he accuses of having “no connection to Judaism at all,” characterizing their construction of the state as “apostasy and heresy.”

Reactions across Israeli politics

Rabo­l’s remarks have sparked strong criticism from numerous Israeli politicians, including prominent opposition leaders.

Gadi Eisenkot, who heads Yashar and is seen as the de facto successor candidate to prime minister, labeled Lando’s “outrageous statements” as embodying anti‑Zionism.

Yair Lapid, the frontrunner opposition figure in the Knesset, denounced the comments as “a disgrace to every Jew.”

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, co‑founder of the Together Alliance with Lapid, described the remarks as “anti‑Semitic, anti‑Zionist” and contrary to the Israeli military.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not responded to the latest allegations, though he previously condemned similar remarks made by Lando in July for calling the Religious Zionism movement “inciter of murder” due to its support for conscripting Torah‑studying students into the armed forces.

Potential electoral implications

The dispute may shape Israel’s coming election cycle. Members of the anti‑Netanyahu opposition bloc have called for the UTJ — to which Lando belongs — to be excluded from any future cabinet, urging critics of Netanyahu to pressure him to distance himself from the Rabbi.

Yair Golan, head of the Democrats party and a prominent voice in the opposition, warned that Netanyahu’s “political survival is more important to him than Zionism, more than equal military service, and more than the sacrifice of our soldiers,” noting that ceding the support of the ultra‑Orthodox core would be extremely costly for the Prime Minister.

Conversely, analysts note that breaking with the UTJ would help Lardo’s opponents frame their message around the fact that the party relies on religious leaders questioning Zionism itself.

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