Pro-Giving-Conscription Groups Threaten to Block Bnei Brak After Mass Haredi Protest

A day after what the article calls a historic “car protest” by Haredi demonstrators, activists opposed to Torah study and backed conscription moved from criticism to threats against the wider Haredi public. The protest involved thousands of cars driving slowly in convoys from 19 locations across Israel to Prison 10, in opposition to the arrest of yeshiva and kollel students.

Ayelet HaShachar Seydof, founder and head of the group Mothers on the Front, told ynet on Thursday that the organization would block Bnei Brak before Shabbat. “We will block Bnei Brak on Friday,” she said. “Blockages will be met with blockages. We will block there before Shabbat and disrupt the lives of these people.” She also called the protesters “anarchists” and accused the police and the prime minister of backing them, saying he had made a deal with the Haredim and was “trading in the blood of our children.”

The report says the car protest had been coordinated with Israel Police, with participants driving in the right lane at 50 kph while leaving other lanes open. It also recalls earlier footage in which Seydof said one goal of the campaign was “to dismantle the Haredi society,” and that a two-year “machine of poison” had operated behind the scenes in synagogues affiliated with Gur, Shas and Chabad. In another clip, she said campaigns were often run using fake street posters that appeared to come from the Haredi public.

The protest won broad backing inside the Haredi community, according to the article, with many Hasidic courts instructing followers to join, and some major Sephardi and Lithuanian rabbinic leaders also said to support it informally. Among those cited was the Slonim Hasidic court, which told followers to participate and then return mid-route to Bnei Brak for the grandson of the rebbe’s wedding. During the protest, police arrested two suspects for pulling a gun on Haredi demonstrators. Commentator Yishai Cohen said the only Haredi demand is to stop the arrests, while MK Meir Porush sharply attacked Religious Zionists over laws meant to protect Torah students. Radio host Akiva Novick wrote that hatred of Haredim is growing in Israel and said it is being fueled by repeated claims from Haredi leaders and by street unrest.