Two Yeshiva Students Arrested in Rishon LeZion Amid Haredi Draft Evasion Crackdown
Translated & summarized from Kikar HaShabbat by baba
Two yeshiva students were arrested in Rishon LeZion by military police as part of a renewed crackdown on Haredi draft evaders. The arrests come less than two weeks before elections and amid protests called by Rabbi Azriel Auerbach. A planned large-scale operation was canceled due to a dispute between the IDF and police over managing disturbances during arrests.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Two yeshiva students were arrested in Rishon LeZion by military police.
- The arrests are part of an ongoing crackdown on Haredi yeshiva students considered draft dodgers.
- The detentions occur less than two weeks before national elections.
- A large military police operation was canceled due to a dispute between the IDF and police.
- Protests against the arrests were called for by Rabbi Azriel Auerbach.
- An organization called 'Tzeva Shachor' alerts yeshiva students about impending arrests.
Two yeshiva students were arrested overnight in Rishon LeZion as part of an ongoing wave of arrests targeting yeshiva students deemed "deserters" by military authorities. The students, from the "Ohr HaChaim" yeshiva headed by Rabbi Reuven Elbaz, a member of the Council of Torah Sages, were apprehended by patrol officers during a routine check. They were subsequently handed over to military police. Upon entering a holding cell, the students contacted "Tzeva Shachor," an organization that alerts on the arrest of yeshiva students, reporting their detention and the confiscation of their mobile phones. They are reportedly receiving legal assistance.
The arrests occur less than two weeks before elections, with other Haredi yeshiva students still held in military prison. This crackdown follows a renewed enforcement against yeshiva students classified as draft dodgers. Earlier this month, Rabbi Azriel Auerbach, leader of the Jerusalem Faction, called for large protests in Jerusalem and Gush Dan against the detention of yeshiva students and kollel members.
Meanwhile, a large-scale military police operation to arrest yeshiva students, scheduled for next week, was canceled at the last minute due to a severe dispute and accusations exchanged between the IDF and the Israel Police. The core of the disagreement concerns responsibility for managing public disturbances that often erupt during attempts to arrest draft dodgers in Haredi neighborhoods.
In recent weeks, numerous arrest attempts have been made across the country. In early October, military police attempted to arrest yeshiva students in Dimona and Bat Yam, but these efforts were thwarted by dozens of protesters alerted through the "Tzeva Shachor" system. Additionally, a prayer and protest rally of about a thousand students from Breslov Hasidism's Talmud Torah schools was held outside Prison 10 in Beit Lid, protesting the ongoing detention of kollel members and yeshiva students. This event was organized with the blessing and leadership of Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shakter, an elder rabbi of Breslov Hasidism.
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