For the first time, Gur Hasidim are expected to hold a mass protest tomorrow, Wednesday, at 4:00 p.m. outside Prison 10 at the Beit Lid camp complex in the Sharon region. The rally was called after the arrest of a young member of the Hasidic community who, according to Gur sources, had come to regularize his status with the military authorities but was detained and taken to the prison facility.
The demonstration is described as an unusual and precedent-setting step for Gur, the largest Hasidic group in Israel, which generally does not stage large-scale protests. In recent hours, activists from the community have been coordinating with the Israel Police and the IDF ahead of the event, which will take place near Prison 10.
According to sources in the Hasidic leadership, the protest will be led by the sons of the Gur Rebbe and senior rabbis from the community. Organizers estimate that about 10,000 people from across the country will attend.
The protest comes amid wider anger in the ultra-Orthodox sector over the arrest of draft evaders, with additional demonstrations also being discussed in other parts of the Haredi world. Separately, the more extreme faction within the Jerusalem Faction, followers of Rabbi Tzvi Friedman known as the Ratzpaniks, said they would demonstrate and block roads in protest against the arrests of Haredi draft evaders.
