Thousands of ultra-Orthodox protesters from the Jerusalem Faction demonstrated on Wednesday against the imprisonment of draft evaders, blocking the entrance to Prison 10. The protest was led by members of the hardline Haredi “Ratzfanikim” stream, and IDF forces were sent to the scene. Before that, other Haredim blocked Route 4 near Bnei Brak, where five protesters were arrested during clashes with police.
During a radio interview on Kan Reshet Bet with Ran Ben-Nimni and Mazal Mualem, Rabbi Israel Troper was asked why Torah study had not prevented the October 7 events. He replied that, according to the Torah, certain behaviors can cause “divine protection” to be withdrawn, naming “fornication and idolatry,” which he said were present at the Nova festival site in Re'im. “The divine protection is removed, people got confused,” he said.
Ben-Nimni immediately cut him off, saying, “Stop here. You will not continue even one more second,” and Mualem added, “We do not live on the same planet.”
Earlier in the interview, Troper said the protesters want “the Land of Israel according to our worldview.” He said that “90% of yeshiva students study Torah and protect all of Israel through their Torah,” while the remaining 10% do not study but cannot be sent to the army because, he claimed, “we know they will lose their kippah there.”
