Shas Accuses State Prosecutor of Orchestrating Chaos Amid Draft Protests

The Shas party has launched a sharp attack against the State Prosecutor, accusing her of being behind the recent riots and road blockades by Haredim protesting conscription into the IDF. Shas claims that the arrests of draft dodgers, particularly yeshiva students, during the election period are intended to fracture the right-wing bloc and alienate Haredi voters from the ballot box. The party also alleged that individuals associated with the Kaplan protest movement are funding these violent demonstrations, though no evidence was presented to support this claim.

In a strongly worded statement, Shas asserted that the "deliberate and painful arrests of yeshiva students at this time, and the chaos we are now seeing on Israel's roads, are the work of the State Prosecutor, with the aim of dismantling the right-wing bloc, making the Haredi public resentful, and causing parts of it to refrain from voting." The party described these actions as a "blatant and unprecedented intervention by the justice system and elements in the military police in the election system."

Shas further pointed fingers at the Kaplan protest movement, stating, "According to the information we have, behind the funding of the protests are people from the Kaplan protest, who have been joined by extremist elements leading violent and life-threatening demonstrations." The party distanced itself from the disturbances, emphasizing that "these actions do not represent the Haredi public, cause terrible desecration of God's name, and cause severe damage to the struggle to regulate the status of Torah scholars."

The harsh criticism from Shas comes as its chairman, Arieh Deri, faced a protest from young Haredim himself, leading to the cancellation of a Shas election event in Modi'in Illit. The event, attended by Deri and MK Michael Malchieli, was disrupted by Haredi youths chanting protests, forcing police intervention and the event's halt. Shas again blamed the Kaplan movement and "extremists from the Haredi faction" for funding the disruption.

Simultaneously, protests against conscription occurred in Jerusalem and on Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, involving blocked traffic arteries and clashes with police, including damage to vehicles. The protests concluded after organizers instructed participants to return to their studies, with police subsequently reopening the roads.