A huge car protest is set to begin Wednesday at 4:00 p.m., with convoys leaving from 19 locations around Israel and heading to Military Prison 10 at the Beit Lid camp. The demonstration is being staged against the arrest of yeshiva students and is being carried out under the guidance of leading Hasidic and Sephardi rabbis. In recent hours, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch has also joined in support.
According to people close to Hirsch, he supported the protest from the start, but refrained from making that backing public out of respect for Rabbi Dov Lando, who did not want to participate. Over the past few days, Hasidic organizers met with Hirsch, received his instructions and blessing, and then issued the public guidance sheet attributed to him.
The campaign is being promoted under the slogan, “We will sanctify Your name in the world!” Organizers describe the rally as a “Journey of Honor for the Torah,” saying it is meant to express pain over the “humiliation of the holy Torah” and the imprisonment of its students. They say the protest is lawful, has police approval, and is backed by full legal counsel. The principles published in the notices say it is intended to support detained students, show that the public stands behind them, and restore the honor of Torah.
Police said they are prepared for the event and do not expect road blockages. Senior officer Roi Amichai told Kikar HaShabbat that there is an agreement for participants to drive in the right lane on major routes, mainly Highway 1, Highway 4 and Highway 6, while those continuing their travel can use the left lane. He said driving at 50 kph is permitted as long as traffic is not disrupted, adding, “As long as both rules are maintained, freedom of protest and freedom of movement, there is no problem.”
Large Hasidic courts, including Belz, Vizhnitz, Czanz and Tchernobyl, have instructed followers to join. Slonim issued a special directive for its followers to join and then turn back early because of the wedding of the rebbe’s grandson in Bnei Brak later that night. The protest comes amid the wider campaign against draft decrees and arrests of yeshiva students, after major rabbinic delegations and mass events in the United States, including a large gathering in Lakewood, sought support for the Torah world.
