Ultra-Orthodox Protest to Return to Beit Lid Over Draft Arrests

Thousands of students and graduates of the Sephardi Be'er HaTalmud yeshiva are expected to gather tonight at Beit Lid to protest the arrest of Aviel Cohen, a 22-year-old married resident of Netivot who was jailed for failing to report for military service. The rally is set for 7:00 p.m., with participants arriving on organized buses at the gates of the detention facility.

Cohen was arrested by police and military police at a gas station near the Gilat Junction, close to Ofakim, in front of his wife. The detention sparked an immediate reaction, with dozens of protesters blocking Highway 25 and Highway 241 in southern Israel for several hours. The new protest comes one day after thousands of Gur Hasidim demonstrated outside the military prison at Beit Lid.

Senior figures from the yeshiva are expected to attend, including Rabbi Yehuda Cohen, a member of Shas’s Council of Torah Sages, and his son, Rabbi Hanoch Cohen, the yeshiva’s head. Separately, MK Moshe Abutbul of Shas visited Prison 10 today and met about 10 ultra-Orthodox detainees, including Cohen, יחד with attorney Shlomo Haddad from the legal department of the Haim Olam organization, which assists ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

During the visit, the detainees complained about their prison conditions, and party representatives held a situational assessment and spoke with the commander of the detention facility. Abutbul said, “We came to strengthen and support Torah scholars. We heard about the difficulties and the desire to return to the study hall. The entire Shas movement stands behind them, and under the leadership of party chairman Aryeh Deri we are working to stop the arrests.”