A military court on Tuesday sentenced Rabbi Aviel Cohen of Netivot to 14 days in military prison for studying Torah. Cohen was arrested the previous night at the Gilat Junction and is set to serve the sentence unless his appeal succeeds. His lawyer, Shlomo Haddad, immediately filed an urgent appeal seeking to cancel the prison term or at least reduce it, while also challenging the legality of the arrest and the proceedings.
Cohen is described as a well-known figure in his community. He is a graduate of the Be'er Hatalmud yeshiva and a student at a kollel in the Kfar Abraham neighborhood of Petah Tikva. The verdict has caused intense anger in ultra-Orthodox circles.
People close to Rabbi Tzvi Friedman reacted with fury, and representatives of the Jerusalem Faction said the ruling was a “red line.” They said they would not stay silent over the imprisonment of a Torah scholar. In a statement, the faction announced large protests on Wednesday at several strategic and central locations across Israel.
According to expectations, demonstrators may block major traffic routes, as has happened in similar past protests. Police and security forces are preparing for the possibility of widespread demonstrations.
