Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman said Monday that Israel's main problem is Jew-on-Jew hatred and compared the Iron Dome anti-missile system with the knitted kippah that religious Zionist Jews wear on their heads.
"I want to point at the true problem facing the state of Israel," Ne'eman said. "It is not what is happening in the south but what is happening in the north and center of the country [as well]: the sinat chinam [baseless hatred]."
"It is not for nothing that it is named 'Iron Dome'," the minister added, in a reference to the anti-missile system that hasscored 90% accurate hits on incoming terrorist missiles in the recent rocket attacks from Gaza.
"I told the Defense Minister – it is a knit kippah. It is our kippah, G-d who protects us when we are united and acquire G-d's blessings for each other."
The Hebrew word "kippah" means "dome." The anti-missile system is therefore called "kippat barzel."
Justice Minister Ne'eman spoke at a ceremony for the completion and publication of the Yoma Talmud Tractate by the Halacha Berura Institute, marking 30 years since the passing of Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah HaCohen Kook.
